Swedbank AB Has $607,000 Stake in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Swedbank AB lifted its stake in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) by 98.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,845 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,409 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB's holdings in Assurant were worth $607,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in shares of Assurant by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 9,021 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,794,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Assurant by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 159,880 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,794,000 after acquiring an additional 6,756 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Assurant by 28.6% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 845 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $168,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Assurant by 17.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 171,370 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $34,079,000 after purchasing an additional 24,887 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Assurant in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $254,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.65% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America increased their target price on Assurant from $228.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. StockNews.com raised shares of Assurant from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Assurant in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $251.00 price target for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Assurant from $194.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on Assurant from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $229.50.

Insider Activity at Assurant

In other Assurant news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.18, for a total transaction of $627,540.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 20,658 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,321,240.44. The trade was a 12.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Assurant Stock Performance

Shares of AIZ traded down $0.18 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $214.64. The company had a trading volume of 387,501 shares, compared to its average volume of 361,900. The firm has a market cap of $11.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.31 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The business has a fifty day moving average of $213.86 and a 200-day moving average of $201.02. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.48. The firm had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.94 billion. Assurant had a return on equity of 17.42% and a net margin of 6.31%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.29 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Assurant, Inc. will post 15.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date 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.