Victory Capital Management Inc. Increases Stake in Assurant, Inc. $AIZ

Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 30.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 142,804 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 33,220 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Assurant were worth $30,931,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its position in shares of Assurant by 37.9% in the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 37,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,046,000 after purchasing an additional 10,200 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Assurant by 1,823.1% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 45,386 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,871,000 after buying an additional 43,026 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Assurant by 23.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,010,373 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,085,247,000 after buying an additional 959,259 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Assurant by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 455,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $89,872,000 after buying an additional 6,041 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Assurant by 29.3% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 665,683 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $143,588,000 after acquiring an additional 150,907 shares during the period. 92.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Assurant Price Performance

Assurant stock opened at $222.95 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $11.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.14 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $232.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $224.42. Assurant, Inc. has a 52 week low of $174.97 and a 52 week high of $246.31.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The financial services provider reported $5.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.55 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $3.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.28 billion. Assurant had a return on equity of 18.65% and a net margin of 6.81%.The company’s revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.79 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be paid a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on AIZ shares. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Assurant from $255.00 to $246.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Assurant from $248.00 to $254.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Assurant from $232.00 to $248.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Assurant from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $258.17.

Assurant Company Profile

Assurant, Inc is a global provider of risk management products and services, specializing in the housing and lifestyle markets. The company offers insurance and related products designed to help consumers protect their homes, personal belongings, and electronic devices. Its core offerings include renters insurance, manufactured housing finance, flood insurance, mobile device protection plans, and extended service contracts for appliances and electronics.

Within its Global Housing segment, Assurant partners with mortgage lenders, financial institutions and government agencies to deliver specialty insurance and risk mitigation services.