Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. Makes New $28,000 Investment in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new position in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $28,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AIZ. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in Assurant by 10.6% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 14,342 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,384,000 after buying an additional 1,369 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Assurant in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $475,000. Czech National Bank grew its stake in Assurant by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 10,550 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,098,000 after buying an additional 644 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Assurant by 41.5% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,097 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $218,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atomi Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Assurant in the 3rd quarter valued at $242,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Assurant Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE:AIZ opened at $215.22 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $213.61 and a 200 day moving average of $201.11. Assurant, Inc. has a 52 week low of $160.12 and a 52 week high of $230.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.35 and a beta of 0.62.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.29 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Assurant, Inc. will post 15.82 earnings per share 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 1.49%. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.82%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AIZ has been the subject of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Assurant from $194.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Assurant from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of Assurant from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Assurant in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $251.00 price objective for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $229.50.

About Assurant

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.