American Century Companies Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) by 173.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 84,655 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 53,697 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.17% of Assurant worth $18,050,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AIZ. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $1,794,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Assurant by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 7,773 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,657,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Assurant by 28.6% during 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 in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Assurant by 17.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 171,370 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,079,000 after purchasing an additional 24,887 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. bought a new position in shares of Assurant during the 4th quarter worth approximately $329,000. 92.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Assurant Stock Down 8.0 %

AIZ traded down $16.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $187.14. 867,097 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 371,825. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $208.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $207.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.51 billion, a PE ratio of 12.93 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.43. Assurant, Inc. has a 1 year low of $160.12 and a 1 year high of $230.55.

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

Assurant Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. Assurant's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AIZ. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Assurant from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $212.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. StockNews.com cut Assurant from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Assurant has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $234.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Assurant 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 value of $604,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 17,708 shares in the company, valued at $3,568,162. This trade represents a 14.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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.