Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. Has $1.59 Million Stock Position in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 7,469 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 50 shares during the quarter. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Assurant were worth $1,593,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AIZ. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in Assurant by 2.3% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 9,021 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,794,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Assurant by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 159,880 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,794,000 after purchasing an additional 6,756 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position 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 buying an additional 24,887 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Assurant by 6.4% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 72,260 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,370,000 after buying an additional 4,317 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Assurant during the third quarter worth about $284,730,000. 92.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Assurant

In other Assurant news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.18, for a total transaction of $627,540.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,658 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,321,240.44. The trade was a 12.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Assurant Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of Assurant stock opened at $215.62 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.38 and a beta of 0.62. Assurant, Inc. has a 12-month low of $160.12 and a 12-month high of $230.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $215.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $198.68.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.48. Assurant had a return on equity of 17.42% and a net margin of 6.31%. The firm had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.29 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Assurant, Inc. will post 15.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid 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 1.48%. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.82%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on AIZ. Truist Financial upped their price target on Assurant from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com upgraded Assurant from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. 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 price target on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Assurant from $194.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Assurant from $200.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Assurant has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $229.50.

Assurant Company 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.