Calamos Advisors LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Calamos Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 107,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 296 shares during the period. Calamos Advisors LLC owned about 0.21% of Assurant worth $22,824,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Assurant by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 7,469 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,593,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Pathstone Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Assurant by 0.5% during the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 10,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,006,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in shares of Assurant by 7.2% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 829 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $165,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its stake in Assurant by 1.1% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 6,919 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,376,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Assurant by 1.0% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 7,615 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,514,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Assurant Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AIZ opened at $212.94 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Assurant, Inc. has a 12-month low of $160.12 and a 12-month high of $230.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.19 and a beta of 0.62. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $214.72 and a 200 day moving average of $200.33.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.48. Assurant had a return on equity of 17.42% and a net margin of 6.31%. The company had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.94 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.29 EPS. Assurant’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Assurant, Inc. will post 15.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.50%. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.82%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AIZ shares. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Assurant from $228.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Assurant from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Assurant from $194.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Assurant in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $251.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com raised Assurant from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $229.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $4,321,240.44. This represents a 12.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.