Blue Trust Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Blue Trust Inc. lowered its position in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 14.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 565 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 92 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Assurant were worth $120,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Assurant by 6.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,163,593 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $231,392,000 after buying an additional 65,874 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its position in Assurant by 11,480.4% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 464,952 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $92,460,000 after acquiring an additional 460,937 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Assurant during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $48,430,000. Barclays PLC boosted its position in Assurant by 48.4% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 192,310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,243,000 after acquiring an additional 62,696 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Assurant by 17.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 171,370 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,079,000 after purchasing an additional 24,887 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Assurant Price Performance

NYSE AIZ opened at $199.73 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $10.24 billion, a PE ratio of 13.80 and a beta of 0.62. Assurant, Inc. has a 52-week low of $160.12 and a 52-week high of $230.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.64. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $210.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $203.47.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $4.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 value of $604,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,568,162. The trade was a 14.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.