Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) Shares Sold by Mount Lucas Management LP

Mount Lucas Management LP decreased its position in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 5.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,370 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 557 shares during the quarter. Assurant accounts for approximately 0.7% of Mount Lucas Management LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Mount Lucas Management LP’s holdings in Assurant were worth $1,998,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AIZ. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Assurant by 36.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,320,590 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $708,016,000 after acquiring an additional 891,292 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its position in Assurant by 11,480.4% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 464,952 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $92,460,000 after purchasing an additional 460,937 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Assurant in the third quarter valued at $48,430,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Assurant in the third quarter valued at $26,630,000. Finally, Amundi grew its position in Assurant by 45.0% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 281,199 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $57,764,000 after purchasing an additional 87,323 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Assurant Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE:AIZ opened at $204.94 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $208.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $205.73. Assurant, Inc. has a 1 year low of $160.12 and a 1 year high of $230.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.16 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.43 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $4.79 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast 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. 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 1.56%. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were 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 $3,568,162. This 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 available through this hyperlink. 0.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.