Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) Shares Purchased by Natixis Advisors LLC

Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its position in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) by 28.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 19,583 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 4,330 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC's holdings in Assurant were worth $4,175,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AIZ. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Assurant by 0.7% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Assurant by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 10,087 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,006,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Assurant by 127.1% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 134 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Assurant by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 7,699 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,642,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Assurant by 30.0% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 364 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. 92.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Activity at Assurant

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 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Assurant Stock Performance

NYSE AIZ traded up $1.39 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $210.83. The company had a trading volume of 305,430 shares, compared to its average volume of 347,522. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm has a market cap of $10.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.57 and a beta of 0.61. Assurant, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $160.12 and a fifty-two week high of $230.55. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $208.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $206.96.

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

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. Assurant's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.11%.

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.