Vanguard Group Inc. Has $1.44 Billion Stock Holdings in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Vanguard Group Inc. decreased its position in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,736,009 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 36,804 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 13.13% of Assurant worth $1,436,252,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in AIZ. LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in Assurant by 144.7% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 23,318 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,972,000 after buying an additional 13,787 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in Assurant during the 4th quarter worth $3,807,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Assurant by 173.5% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 84,655 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $18,050,000 after purchasing an additional 53,697 shares in the last quarter. Sciencast Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Assurant during the fourth quarter valued at $1,467,000. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Assurant by 503.1% during the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.65% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Assurant

In other news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of the business's 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. The trade was a 14.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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Assurant Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AIZ traded up $1.39 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $211.14. The company's stock had a trading volume of 328,281 shares, compared to its average volume of 369,463. Assurant, Inc. has a one year low of $160.12 and a one year high of $230.55. The company has a market cap of $10.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.59 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $208.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $207.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.96 by $0.83. Assurant had a return on equity of 17.25% and a net margin of 6.40%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 EPS for the current year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. Assurant's dividend payout ratio is 22.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.