Bank of New York Mellon Corp Raises Stock Holdings in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 36.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,320,590 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 891,292 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned about 0.06% of Assurant worth $708,016,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in shares of Assurant in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new stake in Assurant in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Huntington National Bank lifted its stake in Assurant by 509.4% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Assurant during the third quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Assurant in the third quarter valued at $56,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Assurant Price Performance

AIZ stock opened at $206.84 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $209.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $204.37. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $10.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.29 and a beta of 0.62. Assurant, Inc. has a 1 year low of $160.12 and a 1 year high of $230.55.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $4.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.96 by $0.83. Assurant had a net margin of 6.40% and a return on equity of 17.25%. Analysts anticipate that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.55%. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.