Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) Shares Acquired by Ritholtz Wealth Management

Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its position in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 60.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,049 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,518 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Assurant were worth $863,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AIZ. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its stake in shares of Assurant by 11,480.4% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 464,952 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $92,460,000 after acquiring an additional 460,937 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Assurant by 32.5% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,041,678 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $173,179,000 after buying an additional 255,471 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Assurant during the third quarter worth approximately $48,430,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Assurant in the third quarter valued at approximately $284,730,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Assurant in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,630,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Assurant Stock Down 0.1 %

Assurant stock opened at $211.39 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.08 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.42. Assurant, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $160.12 and a fifty-two week high of $230.55. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $215.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $197.04.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.94 billion. Assurant had a return on equity of 17.42% and a net margin of 6.31%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.29 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Assurant, Inc. will post 15.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. Assurant’s payout ratio is currently 22.82%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Assurant from $200.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley assumed 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. UBS Group upped their price objective on Assurant from $217.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Assurant from $194.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Assurant has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $229.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.18, for a total transaction of $627,540.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now 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 through this hyperlink. 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.