Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Sells 38,969 Shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lowered its position in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 43.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 51,253 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 38,969 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned 0.10% of Assurant worth $10,928,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in shares of Assurant during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new stake in Assurant in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in Assurant by 127.1% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in Assurant by 219.1% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 150 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Assurant by 503.1% in the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Assurant Price Performance

Shares of Assurant stock opened at $206.15 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.43 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The company has a market cap of $10.47 billion, a PE ratio of 14.25 and a beta of 0.61. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $208.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $207.22. Assurant, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $160.12 and a fifty-two week high of $230.55.

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 net margin of 6.40% and a return on equity of 17.25%. Analysts expect that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 EPS for the current year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The company 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 $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.55%. Assurant’s payout ratio is 22.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Truist Financial lifted their price target 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. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Assurant in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $251.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Assurant from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price 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 assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $234.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 17,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,568,162. The trade was a 14.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.