Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) Shares Acquired by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its position in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 7.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 48,516 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,170 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Assurant were worth $10,345,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings 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 worth $708,016,000 after acquiring an additional 891,292 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Assurant in the 4th quarter valued at $143,475,000. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Assurant in the 3rd quarter valued at $48,430,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Assurant in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,630,000. Finally, Amundi increased its stake in Assurant by 45.0% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 281,199 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $57,764,000 after purchasing an additional 87,323 shares in the last quarter. 92.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Assurant Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE AIZ opened at $211.04 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Assurant, Inc. has a 1-year low of $160.12 and a 1-year high of $230.55. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $209.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $207.64. The company has a market capitalization of $10.72 billion, a PE ratio of 14.58 and a beta of 0.61.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $4.79 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.83. Assurant had a return on equity of 17.25% and a net margin of 6.40%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. Assurant’s payout ratio is presently 22.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Assurant in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $251.00 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Assurant from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $212.00 to $230.00 in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on 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 given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $234.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at Assurant

In other Assurant news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.50, for a total transaction of $604,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,708 shares in the company, valued at $3,568,162. This trade represents a 14.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate 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.