Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Cuts Holdings in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd cut its stake in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 11.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,144 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 775 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Assurant were worth $1,310,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its stake in Assurant by 11,480.4% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 464,952 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $92,460,000 after acquiring an additional 460,937 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Assurant during the third quarter worth $48,430,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Assurant in the third quarter valued at $284,730,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Assurant in the third quarter valued at $26,630,000. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Assurant by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,163,593 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $231,392,000 after acquiring an additional 65,874 shares in the last quarter. 92.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AIZ has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Assurant in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $251.00 target price for the company. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Assurant from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Assurant from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Assurant from $194.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $229.50.

Assurant Stock Up 0.2 %

AIZ stock opened at $213.06 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.93 billion, a PE ratio of 15.20 and a beta of 0.62. Assurant, Inc. has a one year low of $160.12 and a one year high of $230.55. The company has a fifty day moving average of $213.11 and a 200-day moving average of $202.16.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.83. Assurant had a return on equity of 17.42% and a net margin of 6.31%. As a group, analysts expect that Assurant, Inc. will post 15.82 EPS for the current year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.50%. Assurant’s payout ratio is currently 22.82%.

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.