Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Raises Position in Assurant, Inc. $AIZ

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group boosted its stake in Assurant by 198.9% in Q4, adding 7,983 shares to hold 11,997 shares worth about $2.89 million.
• Institutional ownership is very high at 92.65%; large managers like Bank of New York Mellon now hold over 5.01 million shares (≈$1.085 billion) after recent increases.
• Company insiders have been net sellers recently, offloading 2,650 shares worth $558,331 in the last three months, leaving insiders with only 0.51% ownership.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its position in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) by 198.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,997 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 7,983 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.'s holdings in Assurant were worth $2,889,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Assurant by 23.7% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,010,373 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,085,247,000 after acquiring an additional 959,259 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Assurant by 15.1% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 862,500 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $186,808,000 after acquiring an additional 113,235 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Assurant by 29.3% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 665,683 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $143,588,000 after acquiring an additional 150,907 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Assurant by 10.1% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 612,919 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $132,758,000 after acquiring an additional 56,470 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Assurant by 685.2% in the third quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 452,293 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $97,851,000 after acquiring an additional 394,694 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.65% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Assurant

In related news, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 750 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.98, for a total transaction of $158,235.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,741 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,000,256.18. The trade was a 13.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Subhashish Sengupta sold 1,880 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.53, for a total transaction of $395,796.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 2,895 shares in the company, valued at $609,484.35. This trade represents a 39.37% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 2,650 shares of company stock worth $558,331. 0.51% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AIZ has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Assurant from $248.00 to $240.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Assurant in a report on Monday, December 29th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Assurant from $255.00 to $246.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Assurant from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Assurant from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $256.83.

Assurant Stock Up 1.5%

AIZ stock opened at $227.94 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $11.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.43 and a beta of 0.56. Assurant, Inc. has a 52 week low of $181.75 and a 52 week high of $246.31. The company's 50-day moving average price is $221.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $225.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The financial services provider reported $5.61 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.55 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $3.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.28 billion. Assurant had a net margin of 6.81% and a return on equity of 18.65%. The firm's revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.79 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th were issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. Assurant's payout ratio is currently 20.74%.

About Assurant

Assurant, Inc is a global provider of risk management products and services, specializing in the housing and lifestyle markets. The company offers insurance and related products designed to help consumers protect their homes, personal belongings, and electronic devices. Its core offerings include renters insurance, manufactured housing finance, flood insurance, mobile device protection plans, and extended service contracts for appliances and electronics.

Within its Global Housing segment, Assurant partners with mortgage lenders, financial institutions and government agencies to deliver specialty insurance and risk mitigation services.

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