BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Increases Stock Holdings in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 159,880 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 6,756 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. owned 0.31% of Assurant worth $31,794,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. SteelPeak Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Assurant by 770.1% during the second quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 13,051 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,170,000 after purchasing an additional 11,551 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Assurant by 44.9% in the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,614 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,097,000 after acquiring an additional 3,909 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in Assurant by 443.7% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 12,973 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,442,000 after acquiring an additional 10,587 shares in the last quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Assurant in the first quarter worth $1,058,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Assurant by 256.5% in the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 8,979 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,690,000 after acquiring an additional 6,460 shares in the last quarter. 92.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Assurant Stock Performance

Assurant stock traded up $0.93 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $226.15. 352,368 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 389,925. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.60 billion, a PE ratio of 16.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.42. Assurant, Inc. has a 12-month low of $160.12 and a 12-month high of $227.16. The business's 50-day moving average is $200.13 and its 200-day moving average is $184.33.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.48. Assurant had a return on equity of 17.42% and a net margin of 6.31%. The business had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.94 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.29 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Assurant, Inc. will post 15.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. This is a positive change from Assurant's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. Assurant's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on AIZ shares. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Assurant from $200.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group upped their price target on Assurant from $217.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Bank of America upped their price target on Assurant from $228.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Assurant from $194.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on Assurant from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $225.20.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.18, for a total value of $627,540.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,658 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,321,240.44. This represents a 12.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company's stock.

Assurant Company 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.