Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. Decreases Stock Holdings in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. cut its position in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 24,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 900 shares during the quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V.’s holdings in Assurant were worth $4,094,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of Assurant during the fourth quarter worth $539,000. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in shares of Assurant during the fourth quarter valued at $735,000. Sapient Capital LLC bought a new position in Assurant in the 4th quarter worth about $486,000. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in Assurant by 16.2% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 2,247 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $379,000 after buying an additional 314 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Assurant by 38.2% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $122,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Assurant Stock Down 0.9 %

Assurant stock opened at $171.06 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $8.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.50. Assurant, Inc. has a 1-year low of $115.41 and a 1-year high of $189.48. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $178.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $167.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $4.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.88. The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.78 billion. Assurant had a return on equity of 18.36% and a net margin of 5.77%. Research analysts anticipate that Assurant, Inc. will post 15.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 5th were given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 2nd. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.68%. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on AIZ shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered shares of Assurant from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $170.00 to $182.00 in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Assurant from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Assurant from $191.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Assurant presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $192.20.

Assurant Company Profile

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.