Korea Investment CORP Sells 4,900 Shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Korea Investment CORP trimmed its stake in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 10.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 41,419 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,900 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP owned approximately 0.08% of Assurant worth $8,831,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in Assurant by 144.7% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 23,318 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,972,000 after buying an additional 13,787 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in shares of Assurant in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,807,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Assurant by 173.5% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 84,655 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,050,000 after purchasing an additional 53,697 shares during the last quarter. Sciencast Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Assurant in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,467,000. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Assurant by 503.1% in the 4th quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AIZ. Morgan Stanley assumed 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. Truist Financial increased their price target on Assurant from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Assurant from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $212.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $234.17.

Assurant Stock Performance

AIZ opened at $209.96 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.43 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $208.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $207.48. Assurant, Inc. has a 1 year low of $160.12 and a 1 year high of $230.55. The company has a market capitalization of $10.66 billion, a PE ratio of 14.51 and a beta of 0.61.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $4.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Research analysts expect that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 EPS for the current year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a dividend of $0.80 per share. 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 1.52%. Assurant’s payout ratio is presently 22.11%.

Insider Transactions at Assurant

In related news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 17,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,568,162. This represents a 14.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Assurant Company 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.