Franklin Resources Inc. Grows Position in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 12.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,558 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 841 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Assurant were worth $1,612,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new position in Assurant in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Assurant by 127.1% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in shares of Assurant by 219.1% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 150 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Assurant by 503.1% during the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in Assurant by 42.8% in the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 287 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. 92.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on AIZ. StockNews.com downgraded Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Assurant from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $223.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Assurant from $230.00 to $224.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Assurant has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $234.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.50, for a total value of $604,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,568,162. This trade 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 available through this hyperlink. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Assurant Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of AIZ opened at $195.25 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $204.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $207.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.49 and a beta of 0.53. Assurant, Inc. has a 1-year low of $160.12 and a 1-year high of $230.55.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $4.79 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts expect that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.64%. Assurant’s payout ratio is 22.11%.

Assurant 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.