Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Has $1.45 Million Holdings in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 7.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 6,806 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 465 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Assurant were worth $1,451,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in AIZ. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Assurant by 6.4% during the third 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 during the period. Atria Investments Inc raised its holdings in shares of Assurant by 51.9% during the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 2,572 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $511,000 after acquiring an additional 879 shares during the period. Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Assurant during the third quarter valued at approximately $261,000. KBC Group NV grew its position in Assurant by 16.9% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 5,348 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,064,000 after purchasing an additional 773 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank grew its position in Assurant by 509.4% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Assurant Stock Performance

AIZ stock opened at $211.44 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company has a market capitalization of $10.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.61 and a beta of 0.61. Assurant, Inc. has a 12 month low of $160.12 and a 12 month high of $230.55. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $207.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $206.09.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $4.79 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.96 by $0.83. Assurant had a net margin of 6.40% and a return on equity of 17.25%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on AIZ shares. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Assurant in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $251.00 price objective on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Assurant from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $212.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Assurant from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $234.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.50, for a total transaction of $604,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,568,162. This represents a 14.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.