Ameriprise Financial Inc. Boosts Stake in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) by 37.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 56,841 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 15,377 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of Assurant worth $12,120,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new position in Assurant during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Assurant by 127.1% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 134 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in shares of Assurant by 219.1% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 150 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its stake in Assurant by 503.1% in the 4th 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 period. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Assurant by 42.8% during the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 287 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.65% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AIZ. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Assurant from $200.00 to $217.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Assurant from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Piper Sandler raised shares of Assurant from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $223.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Assurant from $224.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Assurant from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $228.67.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Jay Rosenblum sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.93, for a total transaction of $201,930.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,775 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,377,725.75. This trade represents a 7.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.51% of the company's stock.

Assurant Stock Performance

NYSE AIZ traded up $0.51 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $193.14. The stock had a trading volume of 463,981 shares, compared to its average volume of 395,887. Assurant, Inc. has a 52-week low of $160.12 and a 52-week high of $230.55. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $197.85 and a 200 day moving average of $207.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.43. The stock has a market cap of $9.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.35 and a beta of 0.59.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $3.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.78 by $0.61. The business had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.06 billion. Assurant had a net margin of 6.40% and a return on equity of 17.25%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.78 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.66%. Assurant's payout ratio is currently 24.94%.

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.