Fmr LLC Boosts Holdings in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Fmr LLC raised its holdings in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 6.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,163,593 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 65,874 shares during the period. Fmr LLC’s holdings in Assurant were worth $231,392,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AIZ. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in Assurant during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Huntington National Bank increased its position in Assurant by 509.4% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Assurant by 62.1% during the 2nd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 201 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Assurant during the third quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Finally, Family Firm Inc. bought a new stake in Assurant in the second quarter worth $51,000. 92.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on AIZ. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Assurant from $200.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Assurant from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Assurant from $194.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on Assurant from $228.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $225.20.

Assurant Price Performance

NYSE:AIZ opened at $225.76 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $11.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.10 and a beta of 0.57. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $204.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $186.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.42. Assurant, Inc. has a one year low of $160.12 and a one year high of $230.55.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.94 billion. Assurant had a return on equity of 17.42% and a net margin of 6.31%. Assurant’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.29 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Assurant, Inc. will post 15.41 EPS for the current year.

Assurant Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. This is a boost from Assurant’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.42%. Assurant’s payout ratio is presently 22.82%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.18, for a total value of $627,540.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,658 shares in the company, valued at $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Assurant 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.