State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Trims Position in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D decreased its position in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 37.2% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 18,502 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 10,959 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Assurant were worth $3,076,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Leuthold Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Assurant during the first quarter valued at approximately $3,730,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Assurant by 210.7% during the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,705 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,639,000 after purchasing an additional 5,903 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in Assurant during the first quarter worth approximately $1,213,000. SteelPeak Wealth LLC increased its position in Assurant by 770.1% during the second quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 13,051 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,170,000 after purchasing an additional 11,551 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its position in Assurant by 3.0% during 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 last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Assurant

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

Assurant Price Performance

Assurant stock opened at $195.62 on Wednesday. Assurant, Inc. has a 52-week low of $137.50 and a 52-week high of $199.50. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $182.12 and a 200-day moving average of $177.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.65, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.58 by $0.50. The business had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.89 billion. Assurant had a net margin of 6.90% and a return on equity of 19.63%. The business’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.89 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.54 EPS for the current year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors 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 is Tuesday, September 3rd. Assurant’s payout ratio is 20.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on AIZ shares. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Assurant from $223.00 to $222.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Assurant from $210.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Piper Sandler lowered shares of Assurant from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Assurant from $186.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Assurant from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $207.60.

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.