Proficio Capital Partners LLC Makes New Investment in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 58,108 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $12,390,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC owned approximately 0.11% of Assurant as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AIZ. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in shares of Assurant in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Assurant in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Assurant by 127.1% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in shares of Assurant by 219.1% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 150 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Assurant by 509.4% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Assurant from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $212.00 to $230.00 in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Assurant from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com lowered Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, 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 on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $234.17.

Insider Activity at Assurant

In related news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of Assurant 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 17,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,568,162. This trade represents a 14.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Assurant Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AIZ opened at $211.44 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $10.74 billion, a PE ratio of 14.61 and a beta of 0.61. Assurant, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $160.12 and a fifty-two week high of $230.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.43. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $207.93 and a 200-day moving average of $206.09.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last announced its quarterly 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 return on equity of 17.25% and a net margin of 6.40%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

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

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.