Korea Investment CORP Has $8.83 Million Stake in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Korea Investment CORP cut its position in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 10.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and 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’s holdings in Assurant were worth $8,831,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AIZ. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in Assurant by 57.6% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 8,105 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,612,000 after purchasing an additional 2,963 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in shares of Assurant by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 47,011 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,400,000 after purchasing an additional 4,016 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised 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 buying an additional 65,874 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Assurant by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 1,507 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $300,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Glenmede Trust Co. NA acquired a new stake in Assurant in the third quarter valued at about $229,000. Institutional investors own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Assurant

In related news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.50, for a total transaction of $604,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 17,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,568,162. This trade represents a 14.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Assurant Price Performance

AIZ stock opened at $209.96 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.51 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $208.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $207.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.43. Assurant, Inc. has a 52-week low of $160.12 and a 52-week high of $230.55.

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

Assurant Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on AIZ shares. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Assurant from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Assurant in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $251.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Assurant from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $212.00 to $230.00 in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $234.17.

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.