Financial Architects LLC Buys Shares of 11,349 Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Financial Architects LLC purchased a new position in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 11,349 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,420,000. Assurant makes up approximately 1.6% of Financial Architects LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AIZ. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its stake in Assurant by 11,480.4% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 464,952 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $92,460,000 after purchasing an additional 460,937 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Assurant during the third quarter worth approximately $48,430,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Assurant during the third quarter valued at approximately $284,730,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Assurant during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,630,000. Finally, FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Assurant by 6.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,163,593 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $231,392,000 after acquiring an additional 65,874 shares during the last quarter. 92.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on AIZ. Truist Financial increased their price target on Assurant from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Assurant from $194.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Bank of America raised their price target on Assurant from $228.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Assurant in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $251.00 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded 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 assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Assurant presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $229.50.

Assurant Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AIZ opened at $214.87 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.33 and a beta of 0.62. Assurant, Inc. has a one year low of $160.12 and a one year high of $230.55. The company’s fifty day moving average is $214.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $200.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.42.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.48. Assurant had a net margin of 6.31% and a return on equity of 17.42%. The company had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.29 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Assurant, Inc. will post 15.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.49%. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Assurant news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.18, for a total value of $627,540.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,658 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,321,240.44. This represents a 12.68 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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.