Schroder Investment Management Group Trims Stake in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Schroder Investment Management Group cut its position in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) by 13.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 571,053 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 91,395 shares during the quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group owned about 1.11% of Assurant worth $121,760,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Assurant by 36.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,320,590 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $708,016,000 after buying an additional 891,292 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in Assurant by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,163,593 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $231,392,000 after acquiring an additional 65,874 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Assurant during the fourth quarter worth about $143,475,000. Amundi boosted its stake in Assurant by 45.0% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 281,199 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $57,764,000 after acquiring an additional 87,323 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Assurant in the third quarter worth about $48,430,000. 92.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Assurant Stock Down 8.0 %

Shares of AIZ stock traded down $16.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $187.14. The company's stock had a trading volume of 867,097 shares, compared to its average volume of 371,760. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.43. Assurant, Inc. has a 52-week low of $160.12 and a 52-week high of $230.55. The stock has a market cap of $9.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.93 and a beta of 0.61. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $208.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $207.57.

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Assurant (NYSE:AIZ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $4.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Research analysts predict that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. Assurant's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Assurant in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $251.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com downgraded Assurant from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Truist Financial raised their price target on Assurant from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Assurant from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $212.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $234.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Assurant news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.50, for a total transaction of $604,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,708 shares in the company, valued at $3,568,162. The trade was a 14.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by 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.