Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) Shares Bought by Lecap Asset Management Ltd.

Lecap Asset Management Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) by 39.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,792 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,367 shares during the period. Lecap Asset Management Ltd.'s holdings in Assurant were worth $1,022,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Assurant by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 7,469 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,593,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Assurant by 0.5% in the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 10,087 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,006,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in Assurant by 7.2% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 829 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $165,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its stake in Assurant by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 6,919 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,376,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Assurant by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 7,615 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,514,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. 92.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on AIZ. StockNews.com raised shares of Assurant from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Assurant from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Assurant in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $251.00 target price for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Assurant from $194.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Assurant has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $229.50.

Assurant Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AIZ traded up $0.53 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $213.06. 462,863 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 366,649. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The business's fifty day moving average is $213.11 and its 200-day moving average is $202.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.20 and a beta of 0.62. Assurant, Inc. has a one year low of $160.12 and a one year high of $230.55.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $4.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.83. Assurant had a return on equity of 17.42% and a net margin of 6.31%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Assurant, Inc. will post 15.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. Assurant's payout ratio is 22.82%.

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.