Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) Shares Sold by Nordea Investment Management AB

Nordea Investment Management AB lessened its holdings in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 17.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 662,672 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 135,271 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB’s holdings in Assurant were worth $141,527,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Assurant by 34.3% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,473 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $314,000 after buying an additional 376 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Assurant by 17.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 171,370 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,079,000 after acquiring an additional 24,887 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Assurant by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 72,260 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,370,000 after purchasing an additional 4,317 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Assurant in the 3rd quarter worth about $244,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Assurant in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,214,000. 92.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Assurant

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AIZ has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America lifted their price target on Assurant from $228.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted 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. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Assurant in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $251.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Assurant from $200.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Assurant from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $229.50.

Assurant Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AIZ opened at $207.38 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $10.64 billion, a PE ratio of 14.79 and a beta of 0.62. Assurant, Inc. has a 1-year low of $160.12 and a 1-year high of $230.55. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $214.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $194.28.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.48. The business had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.94 billion. Assurant had a net margin of 6.31% and a return on equity of 17.42%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.29 EPS. On average, research 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 was paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This is a boost from Assurant’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Assurant’s payout ratio is 22.82%.

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.