Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Purchases 14,771 Shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 57.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 40,547 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,771 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Assurant were worth $8,645,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AIZ. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in Assurant during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new position in Assurant during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Assurant by 127.1% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in Assurant by 219.1% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 150 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank grew 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 valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. 92.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Assurant Price Performance

Assurant stock opened at $204.08 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $207.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $205.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.37 billion, a PE ratio of 14.10 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Assurant, Inc. has a 12-month low of $160.12 and a 12-month high of $230.55.

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, topping 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 EPS for the current year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

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 given a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.57%. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.11%.

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 dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.50, for a total value of $604,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,568,162. The trade was a 14.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.