Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Trims Stake in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board cut its holdings in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 6.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,580 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 232 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board’s holdings in Assurant were worth $712,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in AIZ. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in Assurant during the second quarter valued at $31,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Assurant by 62.1% during the second quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 201 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank increased its position in shares of Assurant by 509.4% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Assurant in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Assurant during the 3rd quarter worth $56,000. 92.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Assurant Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AIZ opened at $225.17 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $198.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $183.73. The company has a market cap of $11.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.75, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.42. Assurant, Inc. has a one year low of $160.12 and a one year high of $225.47.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. Assurant had a net margin of 6.31% and a return on equity of 17.42%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.29 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Assurant, Inc. will post 15.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a $0.80 dividend. This is a boost from Assurant’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.54%.

Insider Activity at Assurant

In other Assurant news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.18, for a total transaction of $627,540.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,658 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,321,240.44. This trade represents a 12.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AIZ has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Assurant from $228.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Assurant from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Assurant from $200.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Assurant from $217.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Assurant from $194.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Assurant presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $225.20.

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.