World Investment Advisors Increases Position in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

World Investment Advisors raised its position in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) by 24.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,590 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,483 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors' holdings in Assurant were worth $1,618,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new stake in Assurant in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in Assurant by 127.1% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 134 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in shares of Assurant by 219.1% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 150 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted 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. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Assurant by 42.8% during the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 287 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. 92.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Assurant from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $223.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Assurant from $230.00 to $224.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Assurant from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Assurant from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Assurant currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $234.17.

Assurant Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE AIZ traded down $2.22 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $191.03. 175,730 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 376,946. The stock has a market cap of $9.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.21 and a beta of 0.53. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $160.12 and a one year high of $230.55. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $205.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $207.23.

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, 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%. On average, analysts anticipate that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 EPS for the current year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. Assurant's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, 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 SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company's stock.

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.