Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Buys 3,170 Shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its holdings in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) by 7.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,516 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,170 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned about 0.09% of Assurant worth $10,345,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new position in Assurant in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings 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 period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in Assurant by 219.1% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 150 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Assurant by 503.1% during the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its position in Assurant by 42.8% in the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 287 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. 92.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Assurant Price Performance

AIZ stock traded down $5.45 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $181.56. 738,265 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 373,434. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $207.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $207.66. Assurant, Inc. has a 52-week low of $160.12 and a 52-week high of $230.55. The company has a market capitalization of $9.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.55 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.43 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

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

Assurant Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.76%. Assurant's payout ratio is currently 22.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial increased their price target on Assurant from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Assurant from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $212.00 to $230.00 in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Assurant from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $234.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.50, for a total value of $604,500.00. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.