Calamos Advisors LLC Grows Holdings in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Calamos Advisors LLC raised its stake in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 107,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC owned 0.21% of Assurant worth $22,824,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of AIZ. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its holdings in Assurant by 2.3% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 9,021 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,794,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. boosted its position in shares of Assurant by 4.4% in the third quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 159,880 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,794,000 after acquiring an additional 6,756 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Assurant by 17.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 171,370 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,079,000 after buying an additional 24,887 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Assurant during the fourth quarter worth about $254,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Assurant by 6.4% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 72,260 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,370,000 after buying an additional 4,317 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Assurant Trading Down 1.0 %

Assurant stock opened at $212.94 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $214.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $200.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.42. Assurant, Inc. has a 52 week low of $160.12 and a 52 week high of $230.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.19 and a beta of 0.62.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.48. Assurant had a return on equity of 17.42% and a net margin of 6.31%. The firm had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.29 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Assurant, Inc. will post 15.82 EPS for the current year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Assurant

In related news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.18, for a total transaction of $627,540.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,658 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,321,240.44. This trade represents a 12.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on AIZ shares. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Assurant from $228.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. StockNews.com upgraded Assurant from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Assurant in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $251.00 price target on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target 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. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Assurant from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $229.50.

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.