Principal Financial Group Inc. Raises Position in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 72,260 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,317 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Assurant were worth $14,370,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Assurant during the third quarter valued at about $244,000. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Assurant during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,214,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Assurant by 7.4% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 2,950 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $587,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its stake in shares of Assurant by 1.1% during the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 25,809 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,132,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Assurant by 48.4% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 192,310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,243,000 after buying an additional 62,696 shares during the last quarter. 92.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. 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 note on Tuesday, November 12th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Assurant from $200.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Assurant from $228.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Assurant in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $251.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $229.50.

Assurant Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AIZ opened at $215.05 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.34 and a beta of 0.61. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $212.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $192.54. Assurant, Inc. has a 12 month low of $160.12 and a 12 month high of $230.55.

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

Assurant Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. This is a boost from Assurant’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.49%. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.82%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.18, for a total value of $627,540.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 20,658 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.