Mackenzie Financial Corp Lowers Holdings in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Mackenzie Financial Corp trimmed its position in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 37,946 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 493 shares during the quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp’s holdings in Assurant were worth $6,309,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AIZ. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in shares of Assurant by 0.5% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 40,568 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,744,000 after buying an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Assurant in the 2nd quarter valued at about $648,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Assurant by 32.5% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,041,678 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $173,179,000 after acquiring an additional 255,471 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its holdings in shares of Assurant by 1,297.5% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 19,691 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,274,000 after purchasing an additional 18,282 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its position in shares of Assurant by 58.6% in the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 9,961 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,656,000 after purchasing an additional 3,680 shares during the last quarter. 92.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on AIZ shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Bank of America dropped their price target on Assurant from $223.00 to $222.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Assurant from $217.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Assurant from $186.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered Assurant from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $209.00.

Assurant Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:AIZ opened at $198.90 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.57. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $186.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $178.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Assurant, Inc. has a 12-month low of $141.83 and a 12-month high of $201.55.

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

Assurant Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. Assurant’s payout ratio is 20.10%.

Insider Activity at Assurant

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

Assurant 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.