Horizon Advisory Services Inc. Acquires Shares of 1,557 Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Horizon Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 1,557 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $332,000. Assurant comprises approximately 0.2% of Horizon Advisory Services Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its stake in Assurant by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 9,021 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,794,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its stake in Assurant by 4.4% during 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 acquiring an additional 6,756 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Assurant by 28.6% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 845 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $168,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Assurant by 17.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 171,370 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,079,000 after acquiring an additional 24,887 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Assurant during the 4th quarter valued at $254,000. 92.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Transactions at Assurant

In related news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 17,708 shares in the company, valued at $3,568,162. The trade was a 14.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Assurant Stock Up 1.3 %

AIZ stock opened at $202.64 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.29 billion, a PE ratio of 14.00 and a beta of 0.62. Assurant, Inc. has a twelve month low of $160.12 and a twelve month high of $230.55. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $210.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $204.15.

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, 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. Assurant’s payout ratio is 22.11%.

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.