Geode Capital Management LLC Raises Stock Position in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,399,725 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 10,956 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 2.73% of Assurant worth $299,724,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Assurant by 36.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,320,590 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $708,016,000 after purchasing an additional 891,292 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Assurant in the fourth quarter worth $143,475,000. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Assurant in the third quarter worth about $48,430,000. Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Assurant by 45.0% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 281,199 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $57,764,000 after purchasing an additional 87,323 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its stake in Assurant by 48.4% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 192,310 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $38,243,000 after buying an additional 62,696 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.65% of the company's stock.

Assurant Stock Performance

NYSE AIZ traded down $0.38 on Thursday, reaching $192.86. 81,731 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 376,612. Assurant, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $160.12 and a fifty-two week high of $230.55. The firm has a market cap of $9.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.33 and a beta of 0.53. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $205.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $207.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.43.

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Assurant (NYSE:AIZ - Get Free Report) last released 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 return on equity of 17.25% and a net margin of 6.40%. Equities research analysts predict that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. Assurant's payout ratio is 22.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.50, for a total transaction of $604,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 17,708 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,568,162. This represents a 14.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Assurant from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Assurant from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Piper Sandler raised shares of Assurant from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $223.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Assurant from $230.00 to $224.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $234.17.

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.