Aviva PLC Lowers Holdings in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Aviva PLC reduced its holdings in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 29.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 50,031 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 20,671 shares during the period. Aviva PLC owned about 0.10% of Assurant worth $10,668,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Assurant by 36.7% in the 4th 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 period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Assurant in the fourth quarter worth approximately $143,475,000. Amundi grew its holdings in Assurant by 45.0% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 281,199 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $57,764,000 after acquiring an additional 87,323 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Assurant by 48.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 192,310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,243,000 after purchasing an additional 62,696 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Assurant in the 4th quarter valued at $12,390,000. 92.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Assurant Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE AIZ opened at $179.30 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $206.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $207.36. The stock has a market cap of $9.11 billion, a PE ratio of 12.39 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Assurant, Inc. has a 52-week low of $160.12 and a 52-week high of $230.55.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $4.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.96 by $0.83. Assurant had a return on equity of 17.25% and a net margin of 6.40%. Equities research analysts forecast that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.78%. Assurant’s payout ratio is 22.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on AIZ shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Assurant from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $212.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. StockNews.com downgraded Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on Assurant from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Assurant presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $234.17.

Insider Transactions at Assurant

In other news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.50, for a total transaction of $604,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 17,708 shares in the company, valued at $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 is available through this link. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

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.