Vanguard Group Inc. Reduces Holdings in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Vanguard Group Inc. lowered its stake in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,806,278 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 193,666 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 13.09% of Assurant worth $1,146,790,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AIZ. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Assurant in the fourth quarter valued at $108,253,000. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in Assurant by 75.1% in the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 376,975 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $54,126,000 after purchasing an additional 161,671 shares in the last quarter. Gillson Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Assurant during the 4th quarter worth about $27,013,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Assurant by 23.4% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 737,099 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $124,194,000 after buying an additional 139,680 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Assurant by 279.1% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 179,663 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,271,000 after buying an additional 132,275 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Assurant Stock Performance

NYSE:AIZ opened at $169.60 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $172.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $173.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Assurant, Inc. has a twelve month low of $121.51 and a twelve month high of $189.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.84, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.56.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $4.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.87 by $0.91. The business had revenue of $2.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.82 billion. Assurant had a return on equity of 20.08% and a net margin of 6.73%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 10th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 10th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.70%. Assurant’s payout ratio is currently 20.10%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Michael P. Campbell sold 1,304 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction on Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.35, for a total transaction of $226,048.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 24,586 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,261,983.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP Michael P. Campbell sold 1,304 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.35, for a total transaction of $226,048.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,586 shares in the company, valued at $4,261,983.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 2,084 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.29, for a total value of $365,304.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $648,923.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 12,788 shares of company stock worth $2,248,489. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AIZ has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Assurant from $182.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Assurant from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Assurant presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $200.25.

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.