Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Sells 600 Shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. cut its position in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 26.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,644 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 600 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Assurant were worth $351,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in Assurant during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Assurant in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted 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 in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in shares of Assurant by 219.1% during 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, TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its position in Assurant by 503.1% in the 4th quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Assurant news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 17,708 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,568,162. This represents a 14.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AIZ has been the subject of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Assurant from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $212.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. 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 target on the stock. StockNews.com lowered Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Assurant from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Assurant currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $234.17.

Assurant Price Performance

AIZ opened at $206.15 on Friday. 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 capitalization of $10.47 billion, a PE ratio of 14.25 and a beta of 0.61. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $208.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $207.11. Assurant, Inc. has a 52-week low of $160.12 and a 52-week high of $230.55.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 EPS for the current year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.11%.

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.