Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) Shares Bought by Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 198.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,237 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,488 shares during the quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s holdings in Assurant were worth $477,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Assurant in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new position in Assurant during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Assurant by 127.1% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in Assurant by 219.1% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 150 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Assurant during the third quarter worth about $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages 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 report on Thursday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Assurant in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $251.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target 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 issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $234.17.

Assurant Stock Performance

Shares of AIZ opened at $206.83 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $10.51 billion, a PE ratio of 14.29 and a beta of 0.61. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $208.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $206.59. Assurant, Inc. has a 12-month low of $160.12 and a 12-month high of $230.55.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $4.79 earnings per share (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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 EPS for the current year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The company 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 $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.55%. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.11%.

Insider Activity at Assurant

In other news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was 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 owns 17,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,568,162. The trade was a 14.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.