O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Grows Holdings in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) by 48.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,831 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 4,168 shares during the quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC's holdings in Assurant were worth $2,736,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Allstate Corp purchased a new position in shares of Assurant during the 4th quarter valued at $338,000. denkapparat Operations GmbH bought a new stake in Assurant during the fourth quarter valued at about $282,000. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC raised its holdings in Assurant by 75.9% during the fourth quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 9,555 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,037,000 after acquiring an additional 4,123 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its position in shares of Assurant by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 48,516 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $10,345,000 after acquiring an additional 3,170 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Assurant by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 16,434 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,504,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the period. 92.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Transactions at Assurant

In other news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was 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 trade represents a 14.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.53% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AIZ has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Assurant from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $212.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Truist Financial increased 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. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Assurant from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $234.17.

Assurant Price Performance

Assurant stock traded up $7.12 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $188.53. 93,021 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 448,036. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Assurant, Inc. has a 12 month low of $160.12 and a 12 month high of $230.55. The stock's fifty day moving average is $207.77 and its 200-day moving average is $207.66. The stock has a market cap of $9.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.03 and a beta of 0.53.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $4.79 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 EPS for the current year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.70%. Assurant's payout ratio is currently 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.