Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) Shares Sold by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) by 12.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 115,217 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 15,784 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.22% of Assurant worth $24,567,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Assurant by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 7,469 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,593,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC raised its stake in Assurant by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 10,087 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,006,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in Assurant by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 829 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $165,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its stake in Assurant by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 6,919 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,376,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in Assurant by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 7,615 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,514,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.65% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Assurant from $194.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. StockNews.com lowered Assurant from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Assurant in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $251.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on Assurant from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $231.17.

Assurant Price Performance

Shares of Assurant stock traded down $5.29 on Friday, hitting $202.73. 400,419 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 359,659. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.46 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $211.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $202.91. Assurant, Inc. has a 1-year low of $160.12 and a 1-year high of $230.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 6.31% and a return on equity of 17.42%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Assurant, Inc. will post 15.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. Assurant's payout ratio is presently 22.82%.

Assurant Company 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.