Global Retirement Partners LLC Grows Position in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 53.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,405 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 492 shares during the quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC’s holdings in Assurant were worth $300,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in Assurant during the fourth quarter valued at $329,000. Truist Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Assurant by 234.9% during the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 11,995 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,558,000 after acquiring an additional 8,413 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in shares of Assurant by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 7,699 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,642,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. WBH Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Assurant in the 4th quarter valued at about $213,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. raised its holdings in Assurant by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 5,719 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,219,000 after purchasing an additional 528 shares during the period. 92.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Assurant Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of AIZ opened at $202.64 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $210.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $204.15. Assurant, Inc. has a one year low of $160.12 and a one year high of $230.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.00 and a beta of 0.62.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $4.79 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Equities 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 will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.58%. Assurant’s payout ratio is 22.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Assurant news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,568,162. This trade represents a 14.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.