AMF Tjanstepension AB Has $4.50 Million Stock Holdings in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

AMF Tjanstepension AB cut its stake in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 66.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,107 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 42,025 shares during the quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB’s holdings in Assurant were worth $4,503,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in shares of Assurant in the third quarter worth $25,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Assurant in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Assurant by 127.1% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in shares of Assurant by 219.1% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 150 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank increased its position in Assurant by 509.4% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. 92.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Assurant Stock Up 1.8 %

AIZ stock opened at $204.94 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.43 and a quick ratio of 0.43. Assurant, Inc. has a 52-week low of $160.12 and a 52-week high of $230.55. The company has a 50-day moving average of $208.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $205.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.16 and a beta of 0.61.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $4.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.83. Assurant had a net margin of 6.40% and a return on equity of 17.25%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 EPS for the current year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. Assurant’s payout ratio is presently 22.11%.

Insider Activity at Assurant

In related news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.50, for a total value of $604,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 17,708 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,568,162. This trade represents a 14.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on AIZ shares. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Assurant from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Assurant from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $212.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Assurant in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $251.00 target price on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.