Geode Capital Management LLC Purchases 10,956 Shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,399,725 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,956 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 2.73% of Assurant worth $299,724,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AIZ. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 891,292 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Assurant during the fourth quarter worth about $143,475,000. Amundi raised 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 worth $57,764,000 after acquiring an additional 87,323 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Assurant in the 3rd quarter valued at about $48,430,000. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Assurant by 48.4% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 192,310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,243,000 after purchasing an additional 62,696 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Assurant

In related news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction dated 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Assurant Stock Down 8.0 %

Shares of NYSE:AIZ opened at $187.14 on Friday. Assurant, Inc. has a 1 year low of $160.12 and a 1 year high of $230.55. The company has a market capitalization of $9.51 billion, a PE ratio of 12.93 and a beta of 0.53. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $208.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $207.65. 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 (NYSE:AIZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $4.79 earnings per share 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%. Analysts forecast that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.71%. Assurant’s payout ratio is 22.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on AIZ shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Assurant from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $212.00 to $230.00 in a report on Thursday, February 20th. StockNews.com cut Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Assurant from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $234.17.

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.