Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Acquires 4,123 Shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 75.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 9,555 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,123 shares during the quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in Assurant were worth $2,037,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Assurant by 36.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,320,590 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $708,016,000 after buying an additional 891,292 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Assurant in the fourth quarter valued at about $143,475,000. Amundi raised its stake in shares of Assurant by 45.0% during the fourth 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. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Assurant during the third quarter worth about $48,430,000. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of 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 last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Assurant

In other Assurant news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of Assurant 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 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 trade represents a 14.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on AIZ shares. Truist Financial upped their price target on Assurant from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Assurant in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $251.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Assurant from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $212.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $234.17.

Assurant Stock Down 0.2 %

NYSE:AIZ opened at $211.04 on Thursday. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average price is $209.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $207.64. The company has a market capitalization of $10.72 billion, a PE ratio of 14.58 and a beta of 0.61. Assurant, Inc. has a 1-year low of $160.12 and a 1-year high of $230.55.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $4.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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, equities analysts predict that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. Assurant’s payout ratio is 22.11%.

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.