Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) Position Lessened by Empirical Finance LLC

Empirical Finance LLC trimmed its position in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 7.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,827 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 153 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Assurant were worth $304,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AIZ. CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of Assurant by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 976 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $164,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Assurant during the fourth quarter worth $470,000. Truist Financial Corp raised its holdings in Assurant by 305.5% during the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 8,066 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,359,000 after buying an additional 6,077 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in Assurant by 22.9% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 52,573 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,852,000 after buying an additional 9,812 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Savant Capital LLC raised its holdings in Assurant by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 3,009 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $507,000 after buying an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. 92.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on AIZ shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Assurant from $186.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Bank of America cut their target price on Assurant from $223.00 to $222.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 11th. UBS Group raised their target price on Assurant from $210.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Piper Sandler lowered Assurant from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Assurant from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $207.60.

Assurant Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:AIZ opened at $196.35 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $10.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.54. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $175.21 and its 200-day moving average is $175.64. Assurant, Inc. has a 52-week low of $136.88 and a 52-week high of $197.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.39.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.58 by $0.50. The company had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.89 billion. Assurant had a return on equity of 20.08% and a net margin of 6.73%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.89 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 3rd. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.10%.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 transaction of $103,642.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $593,962.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, 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 transaction of $103,642.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $593,962.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 value of $267,195.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,027 shares in the company, valued at $717,329.51. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.