Stifel Financial Corp Has $1.64 Million Position in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Stifel Financial Corp trimmed its holdings in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 18.0% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,247 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,809 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp’s holdings in Assurant were worth $1,641,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AIZ. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its position in Assurant by 2.3% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 9,021 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,794,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Assurant by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 159,880 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,794,000 after buying an additional 6,756 shares during the last quarter. Mount Lucas Management LP grew its stake in shares of Assurant by 102.2% in the second quarter. Mount Lucas Management LP now owns 24,786 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,121,000 after buying an additional 12,529 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Assurant by 6.4% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 72,260 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,370,000 after buying an additional 4,317 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc raised its position in Assurant by 20.4% during the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 566,123 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $94,118,000 after acquiring an additional 96,021 shares in the last quarter. 92.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Assurant Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE:AIZ opened at $212.27 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $10.89 billion, a PE ratio of 15.14 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Assurant, Inc. has a 12-month low of $160.12 and a 12-month high of $230.55. The business has a 50 day moving average of $210.29 and a 200-day moving average of $190.91.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 17.42% and a net margin of 6.31%. The firm had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.29 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Assurant, Inc. will post 15.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Assurant Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. This is a boost from Assurant’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.51%. Assurant’s payout ratio is 22.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Assurant

In other Assurant news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.18, for a total value of $627,540.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,658 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,321,240.44. The trade was a 12.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AIZ has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Assurant from $200.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Assurant from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Assurant from $228.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Assurant in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $251.00 price target on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.