Sciencast Management LP Takes $1.47 Million Position in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Sciencast Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 6,878 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,467,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Assurant by 503.1% during the 4th 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 during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its stake in Assurant by 19.9% during the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 112,188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $23,921,000 after acquiring an additional 18,610 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd grew its stake in Assurant by 198.7% during the fourth quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,237 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $477,000 after acquiring an additional 1,488 shares in the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new position in Assurant during the fourth quarter valued at $2,808,000. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its stake in Assurant by 32.4% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 2,179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $465,000 after acquiring an additional 533 shares in the last quarter. 92.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.50, for a total transaction 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 approximately $3,568,162. The trade was a 14.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on AIZ. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of 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 research note on Thursday, February 20th. StockNews.com cut shares of Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Assurant in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $251.00 target price for the company. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Assurant from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Assurant currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $234.17.

Assurant Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AIZ opened at $206.83 on Friday. Assurant, Inc. has a 52 week low of $160.12 and a 52 week high of $230.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.29 and a beta of 0.61. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $208.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $206.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $4.79 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.83. Assurant had a net margin of 6.40% and a return on equity of 17.25%. On average, analysts expect that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.55%. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.11%.

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.