State of Michigan Retirement System Reduces Stake in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

State of Michigan Retirement System cut its stake in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 0.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,267 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Assurant were worth $2,686,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Assurant during the fourth quarter worth about $108,253,000. AMF Tjanstepension AB purchased a new stake in shares of Assurant during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $39,013,000. Gillson Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Assurant during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,013,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Assurant by 23.4% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 737,099 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $124,194,000 after acquiring an additional 139,680 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Assurant by 279.1% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 179,663 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,271,000 after acquiring an additional 132,275 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Assurant Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE AIZ opened at $163.93 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $171.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $173.06. Assurant, Inc. has a twelve month low of $122.42 and a twelve month high of $189.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.52 billion, a PE ratio of 11.44, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.54.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $4.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.87 by $0.91. The company had revenue of $2.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.82 billion. Assurant had a return on equity of 20.08% and a net margin of 6.73%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 24th. Investors of record on Monday, June 10th were paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 10th. Assurant’s payout ratio is currently 20.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $205.00 price target on shares of Assurant in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Assurant from $182.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $200.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Assurant news, EVP Michael P. Campbell sold 1,304 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 24,586 shares in the company, valued at $4,261,983.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 2,084 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.29, for a total value of $365,304.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,702 shares in the company, valued at $648,923.58. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael P. Campbell sold 1,304 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.35, for a total transaction of $226,048.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,586 shares in the company, valued at $4,261,983.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,788 shares of company stock worth $2,248,489 in the last ninety days. 0.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.