Sciencast Management LP Invests $1.47 Million in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Sciencast Management LP bought a new position in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 6,878 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,467,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in Assurant during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new stake in Assurant during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Assurant by 127.1% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 134 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in shares of Assurant by 219.1% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 150 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Assurant by 503.1% in the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.65% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AIZ has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Assurant in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $251.00 target price on the stock. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Assurant from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Assurant from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $212.00 to $230.00 in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Assurant from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $234.17.

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Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.50, for a total transaction of $604,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 17,708 shares in the company, valued at $3,568,162. This trade represents a 14.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company's stock.

Assurant Stock Performance

Shares of AIZ stock traded up $0.69 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $210.13. 123,131 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 347,982. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $208.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $206.83. The company has a market cap of $10.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.52 and a beta of 0.61. Assurant, Inc. has a 12-month low of $160.12 and a 12-month high of $230.55. 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 posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 6.40% and a return on equity of 17.25%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.52%. Assurant's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.