Norges Bank Takes $143.48 Million Position in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Norges Bank bought a new position in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 672,898 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $143,475,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Assurant by 57.6% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 8,105 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,612,000 after acquiring an additional 2,963 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in Assurant by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 47,011 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,400,000 after purchasing an additional 4,016 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Assurant by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,163,593 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $231,392,000 after purchasing an additional 65,874 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in Assurant by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 1,507 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $300,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Glenmede Trust Co. NA bought a new stake in shares of Assurant during the third quarter valued at approximately $229,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Assurant Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE:AIZ opened at $209.96 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $10.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.51 and a beta of 0.61. Assurant, Inc. has a 12 month low of $160.12 and a 12 month high of $230.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $208.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $207.48.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $4.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.96 by $0.83. Assurant had a return on equity of 17.25% and a net margin of 6.40%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. Assurant’s payout ratio is 22.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on AIZ. Morgan Stanley initiated 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. StockNews.com lowered Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Assurant from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $212.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on Assurant from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Assurant presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $234.17.

Insider Activity

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. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

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.