Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) Shares Sold by Nordea Investment Management AB

Nordea Investment Management AB trimmed its stake in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) by 17.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 662,672 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 135,271 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB owned 1.29% of Assurant worth $141,527,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its stake in Assurant by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 9,021 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,794,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its stake in Assurant by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 159,880 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,794,000 after acquiring an additional 6,756 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Assurant by 6.4% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 72,260 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $14,370,000 after purchasing an additional 4,317 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Assurant during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $284,730,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Assurant in the second quarter valued at $2,294,000. 92.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Assurant Price Performance

Assurant stock traded down $0.90 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $206.76. The stock had a trading volume of 377,851 shares, compared to its average volume of 296,238. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.75 and a beta of 0.62. The stock's fifty day moving average is $214.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $194.55. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.94 billion. Assurant had a return on equity of 17.42% and a net margin of 6.31%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.29 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Assurant, Inc. will post 15.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This is a positive change from Assurant's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Assurant's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.18, for a total transaction of $627,540.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 20,658 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,321,240.44. The trade was a 12.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Assurant from $228.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Assurant from $200.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Assurant from $217.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Assurant in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $251.00 price target for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Assurant from $194.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $229.50.

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.