First Manhattan CO. LLC. Purchases 14,610 Shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

First Manhattan CO. LLC. grew its holdings in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) by 3.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 394,044 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 14,610 shares during the quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. owned 0.77% of Assurant worth $84,018,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Assurant by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 607,458 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $129,522,000 after acquiring an additional 7,211 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in shares of Assurant by 25.9% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 550,782 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $117,438,000 after acquiring an additional 113,247 shares in the last quarter. Dean Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of Assurant by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Dean Capital Management now owns 10,054 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,144,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Crestline Management LP bought a new position in shares of Assurant in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,510,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in shares of Assurant by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 18,583 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,962,000 after purchasing an additional 1,514 shares during the last quarter. 92.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on AIZ shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Assurant from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of Assurant from $230.00 to $224.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Assurant from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Assurant from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $223.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. 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 stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $234.17.

Assurant Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AIZ traded up $0.47 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $195.34. 329,317 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 386,652. The company's 50 day moving average price is $198.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $206.88. The firm has a market cap of $9.94 billion, a PE ratio of 13.50 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.43 and a quick ratio of 0.43. Assurant, Inc. has a 52 week low of $160.12 and a 52 week high of $230.55.

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

Insider Transactions at Assurant

In other Assurant 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 value of $604,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 17,708 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,568,162. This represents a 14.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.51% of the company's stock.

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.