Ritholtz Wealth Management Boosts Stock Holdings in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its stake in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 33.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,531 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 633 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Assurant were worth $503,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AIZ. CWM LLC raised its position in shares of Assurant by 85.6% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,227 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $841,000 after buying an additional 1,950 shares during the period. Atomi Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Assurant during the third quarter worth about $242,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Assurant by 41.5% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,097 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $218,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the period. Czech National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Assurant by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 10,550 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,098,000 after purchasing an additional 644 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its stake in shares of Assurant by 47.3% in the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 13,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,724,000 after purchasing an additional 4,400 shares in the last quarter. 92.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Assurant Price Performance

Shares of AIZ stock opened at $194.74 on Wednesday. Assurant, Inc. has a twelve month low of $144.61 and a twelve month high of $201.55. The company has a market capitalization of $10.12 billion, a PE ratio of 13.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $191.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $179.01.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Assurant had a net margin of 6.90% and a return on equity of 19.63%. The company had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.89 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.89 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. Assurant’s payout ratio is 20.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AIZ has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Assurant from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Assurant from $217.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Assurant from $228.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Assurant from $200.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $214.60.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 550 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.44, for a total transaction of $103,642.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,152 shares in the company, valued at approximately $593,962.88. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Assurant news, EVP Martin Jenns sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $717,329.51. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 550 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $593,962.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

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.