CenterBook Partners LP Buys Shares of 1,741 Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

CenterBook Partners LP purchased a new position in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,741 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $371,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AIZ. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Assurant by 36.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,320,590 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $708,016,000 after purchasing an additional 891,292 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Assurant in the 4th quarter worth approximately $143,475,000. Amundi increased its holdings in shares of Assurant by 45.0% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 281,199 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $57,764,000 after acquiring an additional 87,323 shares during the last quarter. FIL Ltd lifted its stake in Assurant by 42.4% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 213,550 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $45,533,000 after purchasing an additional 63,550 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Assurant by 48.4% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 192,310 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $38,243,000 after purchasing an additional 62,696 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.65% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.50, for a total transaction of $604,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,708 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,568,162. The trade was a 14.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Assurant Price Performance

Shares of AIZ traded down $1.31 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $189.01. 432,677 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 382,383. 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 capitalization of $9.61 billion, a PE ratio of 13.06 and a beta of 0.53. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $202.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $206.88. Assurant, Inc. has a one year low of $160.12 and a one year high of $230.55.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $4.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.83. Assurant had a return on equity of 17.25% and a net margin of 6.40%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 earnings per share for the current year.

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.