Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) Shares Sold by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Handelsbanken Fonder AB decreased its position in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 700 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Assurant were worth $2,772,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in Assurant by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 9,021 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,794,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. raised its stake in Assurant by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 159,880 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,794,000 after purchasing an additional 6,756 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Assurant by 28.6% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 845 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $168,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Assurant by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 171,370 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,079,000 after purchasing an additional 24,887 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Assurant in the 4th quarter valued at about $254,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Assurant from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $212.00 to $230.00 in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Assurant from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com cut Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Assurant in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $251.00 price target for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Assurant currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $234.17.

Assurant Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:AIZ opened at $202.64 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.64. Assurant, Inc. has a 1 year low of $160.12 and a 1 year high of $230.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.00 and a beta of 0.62. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $210.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $204.15.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $4.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.83. Assurant had a return on equity of 17.25% and a net margin of 6.40%. Equities analysts forecast that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. Assurant’s payout ratio is currently 22.11%.

Insider Transactions at Assurant

In related news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.50, for a total transaction of $604,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,568,162. The trade was a 14.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

About Assurant

Assurant, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides business services that supports, protects, and connects consumer purchases in North America, Latin America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific. The company operates through two segments: Global Lifestyle and Global Housing. The Global Lifestyle segment offers mobile device solutions, and extended service contracts and related services for consumer electronics and appliances, and credit and other insurance products; and vehicle protection, commercial equipment, and other related services.