Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) Stake Trimmed by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lessened its holdings in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 4.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 660,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 27,207 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 1.29% of Assurant worth $140,756,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Assurant in the third quarter worth $1,214,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Assurant in the 3rd quarter valued at $244,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Assurant by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 72,260 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,370,000 after acquiring an additional 4,317 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Assurant by 17.0% during 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Assurant Stock Performance

Assurant stock opened at $190.92 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $200.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $206.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.19 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. 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 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%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Assurant

In other Assurant news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.50, for a total value of $604,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 17,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,568,162. This represents a 14.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AIZ has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Assurant from $230.00 to $224.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Assurant from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised shares of Assurant from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $223.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $234.17.

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.