Farther Finance Advisors LLC Grows Position in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 110.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 679 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 356 shares during the quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC’s holdings in Assurant were worth $145,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in Assurant during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Assurant in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Assurant by 127.1% in the 4th 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 lifted its stake in shares of Assurant by 219.1% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Assurant in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.50, for a total value of $604,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,708 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,568,162. This trade represents a 14.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Assurant Price Performance

Shares of AIZ stock opened at $211.91 on Friday. Assurant, Inc. has a 52-week low of $160.12 and a 52-week high of $230.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.64 and a beta of 0.61. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $208.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $206.52.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $4.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.