Pittenger & Anderson Inc. Purchases 55 Shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Pittenger & Anderson Inc. increased its position in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 26,315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. owned approximately 0.05% of Assurant worth $5,611,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Assurant by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,163,593 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $231,392,000 after purchasing an additional 65,874 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its holdings in Assurant by 11,480.4% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 464,952 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $92,460,000 after acquiring an additional 460,937 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Assurant in the 3rd quarter valued at about $48,430,000. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Assurant by 48.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 192,310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,243,000 after acquiring an additional 62,696 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Assurant by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 171,370 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,079,000 after acquiring an additional 24,887 shares during the period. 92.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on AIZ. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Assurant in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $251.00 price target on the stock. 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 report on Thursday. StockNews.com cut shares of Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Assurant has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $231.17.

Assurant Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AIZ opened at $202.73 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $211.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $203.11. The firm has a market cap of $10.40 billion, a PE ratio of 14.46 and a beta of 0.62. Assurant, Inc. has a 12-month low of $160.12 and a 12-month high of $230.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 6.31% and a return on equity of 17.42%. Equities research analysts predict that Assurant, Inc. will post 15.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.82%.

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.