MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. Boosts Stock Position in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,705 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd.’s holdings in Assurant were worth $1,003,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Assurant by 36.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,320,590 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $708,016,000 after buying an additional 891,292 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Assurant by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,399,725 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $299,724,000 after acquiring an additional 10,956 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Assurant by 23.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 831,864 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $177,370,000 after buying an additional 156,364 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Assurant in the fourth quarter worth about $143,475,000. Finally, Clark Capital Management Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Assurant by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 607,458 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $129,522,000 after buying an additional 7,211 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Jay Rosenblum sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.93, for a total transaction of $201,930.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,377,725.75. This represents a 7.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Assurant from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley set a $217.00 price target on Assurant and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Assurant from $224.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Assurant from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised shares of Assurant from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $223.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $228.67.

Assurant Trading Up 1.9%

AIZ opened at $196.65 on Monday. Assurant, Inc. has a one year low of $160.12 and a one year 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 stock has a market cap of $10.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.59 and a beta of 0.59. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $197.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $207.12.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $3.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.78 by $0.61. Assurant had a net margin of 6.40% and a return on equity of 17.25%. The business had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.78 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 EPS for the current year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be given a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.63%. Assurant’s payout ratio is presently 24.94%.

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.