Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Lowers Stake in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp reduced its position in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) by 43.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 51,253 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 38,969 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned about 0.10% of Assurant worth $10,928,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in Assurant by 2.3% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 9,021 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,794,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings 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 worth $1,657,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased 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 during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Assurant by 17.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 171,370 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $34,079,000 after buying an additional 24,887 shares during the period. Finally, Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in Assurant in the fourth quarter worth $329,000. 92.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.50, for a total value of $604,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.53% of the company's stock.

Assurant Trading Down 0.6 %

Assurant stock traded down $1.36 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $210.20. The company had a trading volume of 117,183 shares, compared to its average volume of 368,497. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market cap of $10.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.53 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $208.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $207.61. 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 announced its quarterly 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 17.25% and a net margin of 6.40%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. Assurant's payout ratio is 22.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AIZ has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Assurant in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $251.00 price objective on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Assurant from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the company from $212.00 to $230.00 in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Assurant from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Assurant from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $234.17.

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.