Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) Position Boosted by AQR Capital Management LLC

AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 32.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,041,678 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 255,471 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 2.00% of Assurant worth $173,179,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AIZ. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new stake in Assurant in the fourth quarter worth approximately $611,000. UBS Group AG raised its stake in Assurant by 48.5% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 58,172 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,801,000 after purchasing an additional 18,992 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. acquired a new stake in Assurant during the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Assurant by 255.6% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 10,255 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,728,000 after purchasing an additional 7,371 shares during the period. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Assurant by 11.6% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 17,893 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,015,000 after purchasing an additional 1,853 shares during the period. 92.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Assurant

In other Assurant news, EVP Martin Jenns sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.13, for a total transaction of $267,195.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,027 shares in the company, valued at $717,329.51. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Martin Jenns sold 1,500 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.13, for a total transaction of $267,195.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $717,329.51. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 550 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.44, for a total value of $103,642.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,152 shares in the company, valued at $593,962.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on AIZ. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Assurant from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Assurant from $217.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Assurant from $186.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Assurant from $223.00 to $222.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $209.00.

Assurant Trading Down 0.4 %

Assurant stock opened at $196.54 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The company has a market capitalization of $10.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.72, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.57. Assurant, Inc. has a one year low of $141.83 and a one year high of $199.50. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $185.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $177.76.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.58 by $0.50. Assurant had a net margin of 6.90% and a return on equity of 19.63%. The firm had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.89 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.89 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 3rd. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.10%.

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.