Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) Shares Purchased by Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 198.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,237 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,488 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s holdings in Assurant were worth $477,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in 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 valued at $708,016,000 after buying an additional 891,292 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Assurant by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,163,593 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $231,392,000 after purchasing an additional 65,874 shares during the period. Amundi grew its holdings in shares of Assurant by 45.0% during 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 during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Assurant during the 3rd quarter worth about $48,430,000. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its position in Assurant by 48.4% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 192,310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,243,000 after acquiring an additional 62,696 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Assurant Trading Down 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE AIZ opened at $206.83 on Friday. Assurant, Inc. has a one year low of $160.12 and a one year high of $230.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.51 billion, a PE ratio of 14.29 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $208.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $206.59.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $4.79 earnings per share 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, analysts predict that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio is 22.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on AIZ shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Assurant from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Assurant in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $251.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Assurant from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $212.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $234.17.

Insider Activity at Assurant

In related news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.50, for a total value 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. The trade was a 14.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.