Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) Shares Acquired by Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd

Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd increased its position in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 775.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,100 shares during the period. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in Assurant were worth $746,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AIZ. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Assurant by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 7,469 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,593,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Pathstone Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Assurant by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 10,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,006,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in Assurant by 127.1% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Assurant by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 7,699 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,642,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Assurant by 30.0% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 364 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $78,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. 92.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 17,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,568,162. This trade represents a 14.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on AIZ shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Assurant from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $212.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. StockNews.com cut shares of Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Assurant in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $251.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on Assurant from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Assurant currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $234.17.

Assurant Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AIZ opened at $211.44 on Friday. Assurant, Inc. has a 12 month low of $160.12 and a 12 month high of $230.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.61 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.43 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $207.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $206.09.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $4.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.96 by $0.83. Assurant had a return on equity of 17.25% and a net margin of 6.40%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.51%. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.11%.

Assurant Profile

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.