State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Decreases Stock Holdings in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D cut its stake in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 520 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Assurant were worth $3,676,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AIZ. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its holdings in Assurant by 11,480.4% in 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 buying an additional 460,937 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Assurant during the 3rd quarter valued at about $48,430,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Assurant during the third quarter worth about $284,730,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Assurant during the third quarter worth about $26,630,000. Finally, FMR LLC raised its stake in Assurant by 6.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,163,593 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $231,392,000 after purchasing an additional 65,874 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Assurant Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE AIZ opened at $200.23 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.27 billion, a PE ratio of 13.84 and a beta of 0.62. Assurant, Inc. has a twelve month low of $160.12 and a twelve month high of $230.55. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $210.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $203.48.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last released its 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 1.60%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. Assurant’s payout ratio is currently 22.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on AIZ shares. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Assurant from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com cut Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Assurant in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $251.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Assurant from $194.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $231.17.

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.