Raymond James Financial Inc. Makes New Investment in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 17,869 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,810,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AIZ. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Assurant in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in Assurant by 127.1% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 134 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in shares of Assurant by 219.1% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 150 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its stake in Assurant by 503.1% during the 4th quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in Assurant by 42.8% in the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 287 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. 92.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on AIZ. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Assurant from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Assurant from $230.00 to $224.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Piper Sandler raised shares of Assurant from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $223.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Assurant from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $234.17.

Insider Activity

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 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 represents a 14.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.51% of the company's stock.

Assurant Price Performance

NYSE:AIZ traded up $3.04 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $194.67. 48,355 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 383,319. The company has a current ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm has a market cap of $9.90 billion, a PE ratio of 13.46 and a beta of 0.53. Assurant, Inc. has a twelve month low of $160.12 and a twelve month high of $230.55. The stock's 50-day moving average is $200.02 and its 200-day moving average is $206.69.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $4.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.