Optimize Financial Inc Makes New $370,000 Investment in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Optimize Financial Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,735 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $370,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new position in Assurant during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Assurant by 127.1% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in shares of Assurant by 219.1% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 150 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Assurant by 503.1% in the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in Assurant by 42.8% in the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 287 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Assurant Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of AIZ stock opened at $189.45 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.09 and a beta of 0.53. Assurant, Inc. has a 12-month low of $160.12 and a 12-month high of $230.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $204.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $207.13.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $4.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Research analysts forecast that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders 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 1.69%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.11%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Assurant from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Piper Sandler raised shares of Assurant from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $223.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Assurant from $230.00 to $224.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $234.17.

Insider Transactions 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,568,162. The trade was a 14.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

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.