Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Lowers Stake in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lessened its position in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ – Get Rating) by 20.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,454 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 864 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in Assurant were worth $432,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its position in Assurant by 353.8% during the first quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 177 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the period. Old North State Trust LLC purchased a new stake in Assurant during the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Covestor Ltd grew its position in Assurant by 453.2% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 260 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in Assurant by 103.9% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 475 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC grew its position in Assurant by 66.7% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 450 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.86% of the company’s stock.

Assurant Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE:AIZ opened at $129.17 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.41. Assurant, Inc. has a one year low of $104.49 and a one year high of $185.97. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $120.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $124.90. The stock has a market cap of $6.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.54.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 2nd. The financial services provider reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.32 by $1.17. Assurant had a return on equity of 13.47% and a net margin of 2.33%. The business had revenue of $2.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.75 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Assurant, Inc. will post 13.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 30th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 26th. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.50%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AIZ has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America boosted their price target on Assurant from $160.00 to $164.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 3rd. TheStreet upgraded Assurant from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 10th. StockNews.com upgraded Assurant from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Assurant from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $52.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Assurant from $133.00 to $129.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $136.00.

Assurant Company Profile

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Assurant, Inc engages in the provision of lifestyle and housing solutions of consumer purchases. It operates through Global Lifestyle and Global Housing segments. The Global Lifestyle segment offers mobile device solutions and extended service products and related services for mobile devices, consumer electronics and appliances, vehicle protection and related services.