Wealthfront Advisers LLC Makes New Investment in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 3,306 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $705,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in Assurant by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 6,806 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,451,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in shares of Assurant by 57.3% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 40,547 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,645,000 after buying an additional 14,771 shares during the last quarter. Taika Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Assurant during the fourth quarter worth approximately $360,000. Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Assurant by 45.0% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 281,199 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $57,764,000 after buying an additional 87,323 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Assurant by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 7,773 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,657,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Assurant Stock Performance

Assurant stock opened at $211.44 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.43 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $207.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $206.09. Assurant, Inc. has a 52-week low of $160.12 and a 52-week high of $230.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.61 and a beta of 0.61.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last released its quarterly earnings data 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, analysts anticipate that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.51%. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Transactions at Assurant

In other news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.50, for a total transaction of $604,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 17,708 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,568,162. This represents a 14.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

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.