Natixis Advisors LLC Acquires 1,456 Shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 15,253 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,456 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Assurant were worth $3,033,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. SteelPeak Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Assurant by 770.1% during the 2nd quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 13,051 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,170,000 after acquiring an additional 11,551 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Assurant by 44.9% during the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,614 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,097,000 after purchasing an additional 3,909 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in shares of Assurant by 443.7% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 12,973 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,442,000 after purchasing an additional 10,587 shares in the last quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Assurant in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,058,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Assurant by 256.5% in the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 8,979 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,690,000 after buying an additional 6,460 shares during the period. 92.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Assurant Price Performance

AIZ opened at $226.15 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $11.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.13, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.57. 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 fifty-two week low of $160.12 and a fifty-two week high of $227.16. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $200.13 and a 200 day moving average of $184.33.

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

Assurant Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This is a boost from Assurant’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.54%.

Insider Transactions at Assurant

In related news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.18, for a total transaction of $627,540.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,658 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,321,240.44. This represents a 12.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AIZ has been the topic of several recent research reports. Truist Financial increased their price target on Assurant from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Assurant from $200.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Assurant from $194.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Assurant from $228.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report 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. According to MarketBeat, Assurant has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $225.20.

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.