MML Investors Services LLC Has $532,000 Stock Holdings in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

MML Investors Services LLC raised its stake in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 19.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,677 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 436 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC’s holdings in Assurant were worth $532,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AIZ. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its holdings 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 valued at $1,794,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. raised its position in Assurant by 4.4% in the third 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 purchasing an additional 6,756 shares during the last quarter. Mount Lucas Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Assurant by 102.2% during the second quarter. Mount Lucas Management LP now owns 24,786 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,121,000 after purchasing an additional 12,529 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Assurant by 6.4% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 72,260 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,370,000 after purchasing an additional 4,317 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Assurant by 20.4% in the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 566,123 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $94,118,000 after buying an additional 96,021 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Assurant

In other Assurant news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of the firm’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 owns 20,658 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,321,240.44. This trade represents a 12.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Assurant Stock Performance

AIZ stock opened at $212.27 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $10.89 billion, a PE ratio of 15.14 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $210.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $191.18. Assurant, Inc. has a 1-year low of $160.12 and a 1-year high of $230.55.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.48. The business 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%. The firm’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. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Assurant, Inc. will post 15.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Assurant Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.51%. This is a boost from Assurant’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.82%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on AIZ shares. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Assurant from $228.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Assurant from $200.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group raised their target price on Assurant from $217.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Assurant from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Assurant currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $229.50.

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.