Alaska Permanent Fund Corp Boosts Stake in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Alaska Permanent Fund Corp boosted its position in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 14.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 20,846 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,687 shares during the period. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp’s holdings in Assurant were worth $3,924,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of AIZ. Mather Group LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Assurant during the 1st quarter worth approximately $81,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Assurant by 3.0% in the first quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 249,152 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $46,900,000 after purchasing an additional 7,150 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd lifted its position in shares of Assurant by 80.6% during the fourth quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 31,225 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,262,000 after purchasing an additional 13,932 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Assurant by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 255,736 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,089,000 after purchasing an additional 19,839 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Assurant in the fourth quarter worth about $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Assurant Stock Performance

AIZ stock opened at $169.60 on Friday. Assurant, Inc. has a 1-year low of $121.51 and a 1-year high of $189.48. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $172.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $173.14. The company has a market capitalization of $8.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.84, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.39.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $4.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.87 by $0.91. Assurant had a net margin of 6.73% and a return on equity of 20.08%. The business had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.82 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 24th. Investors of record on Monday, June 10th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 10th. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on AIZ shares. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Assurant from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Assurant from $182.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $200.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Michael P. Campbell sold 1,304 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.35, for a total value of $226,048.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,586 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,261,983.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Michael P. Campbell sold 1,304 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.35, for a total value of $226,048.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 24,586 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,261,983.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Robert Lonergan sold 2,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.12, for a total transaction of $475,524.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 19,786 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,484,710.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,788 shares of company stock worth $2,248,489 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

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.