Acadian Asset Management LLC Acquires 865 Shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 256.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,202 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 865 shares during the quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Assurant were worth $199,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AIZ. Leuthold Group LLC acquired a new stake in Assurant in the first quarter valued at about $3,730,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Assurant by 210.7% in the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,705 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,639,000 after acquiring an additional 5,903 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Assurant in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,213,000. SteelPeak Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Assurant by 770.1% during the 2nd quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 13,051 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,170,000 after purchasing an additional 11,551 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Assurant by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 249,152 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $46,900,000 after purchasing an additional 7,150 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 550 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.44, for a total value of $103,642.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,152 shares in the company, valued at approximately $593,962.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other 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 value of $103,642.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $593,962.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Martin Jenns sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.13, for a total value of $267,195.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Assurant Stock Performance

Shares of Assurant stock opened at $194.27 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $10.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.57. Assurant, Inc. has a twelve month low of $141.30 and a twelve month high of $199.50. The company’s fifty day moving average is $183.77 and its 200 day moving average is $177.39. 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 announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.58 by $0.50. The firm 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 19.63% and a net margin of 6.90%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.89 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.54 EPS for the current year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

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

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.