Ieq Capital LLC Grows Stock Position in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Ieq Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 337.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,575 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,470 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC’s holdings in Assurant were worth $2,894,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Assurant by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 7,469 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,593,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Assurant by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 10,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,006,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in Assurant by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 829 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $165,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Assurant by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 7,615 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,514,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. increased its position in Assurant by 0.3% during the third quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 26,260 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,222,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. 92.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Assurant Stock Down 0.6 %

AIZ opened at $199.73 on Friday. Assurant, Inc. has a 12 month low of $160.12 and a 12 month high of $230.55. The business has a 50-day moving average of $210.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $203.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.80 and a beta of 0.62.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $4.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.83. Assurant had a net margin of 6.40% and a return on equity of 17.25%. On average, research analysts expect that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. Assurant’s payout ratio is currently 22.11%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Assurant from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com cut shares of Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Assurant in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $251.00 price target for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Assurant from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $212.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Thursday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Assurant has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $234.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at Assurant

In other Assurant news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,708 shares in the company, valued at $3,568,162. The trade was a 14.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.