Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Acquires 2,803 Shares of Assurant, Inc. $AIZ

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 28.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,539 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,803 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Assurant were worth $2,716,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Assurant by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,775,234 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,338,041,000 after purchasing an additional 88,749 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Assurant by 23.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,010,373 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,085,247,000 after buying an additional 959,259 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Assurant by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,245,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $245,879,000 after acquiring an additional 53,773 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in Assurant by 29.3% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 665,683 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $143,588,000 after acquiring an additional 150,907 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Assurant in the 2nd quarter worth about $131,300,000. 92.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on AIZ shares. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Assurant from $255.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Zacks Research downgraded Assurant from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Assurant from $232.00 to $248.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Assurant from $248.00 to $254.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Assurant in a report on Monday, December 29th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $252.67.

Assurant Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:AIZ opened at $240.64 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.05 billion, a PE ratio of 14.65 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.40. Assurant, Inc. has a 52-week low of $174.97 and a 52-week high of $243.76. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $234.35 and a 200 day moving average of $219.26.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The financial services provider reported $5.73 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.23 by $1.50. Assurant had a net margin of 6.75% and a return on equity of 18.61%. The firm had revenue of $3.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.15 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.00 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be paid a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Assurant’s payout ratio is currently 21.42%.

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.