Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $14.37 Million Stock Position in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) by 6.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 72,260 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,317 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.14% of Assurant worth $14,370,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its stake in Assurant by 11,480.4% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 464,952 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $92,460,000 after buying an additional 460,937 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Assurant by 32.5% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,041,678 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $173,179,000 after acquiring an additional 255,471 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Assurant during the third quarter valued at approximately $48,430,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Assurant during the third quarter valued at approximately $284,730,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Assurant during the third quarter worth approximately $26,630,000. 92.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.18, for a total value of $627,540.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,658 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,321,240.44. This represents a 12.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 corporate insiders.

Assurant Trading Down 1.0 %

AIZ traded down $2.14 during trading on Friday, reaching $215.05. The company had a trading volume of 251,530 shares, compared to its average volume of 352,431. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $212.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $192.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.42. The company has a market cap of $11.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.34 and a beta of 0.61. Assurant, Inc. has a 12-month low of $160.12 and a 12-month 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.48. Assurant had a net margin of 6.31% and a return on equity of 17.42%. The business had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.29 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Assurant, Inc. will post 15.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Assurant Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This is a boost from Assurant's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Assurant's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.82%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AIZ. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Assurant from $194.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. UBS Group raised their target price on Assurant from $217.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Assurant in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $251.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Assurant from $200.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Assurant from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Assurant has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $229.50.

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.