Handelsbanken Fonder AB Acquires 3,700 Shares of Assurant, Inc. $AIZ

Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its holdings in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 28.7% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 16,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,700 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Assurant were worth $3,596,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Assurant by 72.6% during the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC acquired a new position in shares of Assurant during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Assurant by 65.6% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 149 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in Assurant during the third quarter worth $34,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in Assurant by 360.0% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 161 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. 92.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Assurant Stock Performance

Shares of AIZ opened at $232.85 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.39. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $233.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $224.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.72 and a beta of 0.58. Assurant, Inc. has a 52 week low of $174.97 and a 52 week high of $246.31.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The financial services provider reported $5.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.55 by $0.06. Assurant had a return on equity of 18.65% and a net margin of 6.81%.The company had revenue of $3.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.79 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. Assurant’s payout ratio is currently 20.74%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AIZ. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Assurant from $248.00 to $254.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Assurant from $252.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Assurant from $255.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Assurant from $232.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $258.17.

Assurant Profile

Assurant, Inc is a global provider of risk management products and services, specializing in the housing and lifestyle markets. The company offers insurance and related products designed to help consumers protect their homes, personal belongings, and electronic devices. Its core offerings include renters insurance, manufactured housing finance, flood insurance, mobile device protection plans, and extended service contracts for appliances and electronics.

Within its Global Housing segment, Assurant partners with mortgage lenders, financial institutions and government agencies to deliver specialty insurance and risk mitigation services.