Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Has $1.95 Million Holdings in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its stake in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 47.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,738 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,802 shares during the quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in Assurant were worth $1,952,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB bought a new position in shares of Assurant during the 1st quarter worth approximately $39,013,000. Gillson Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Assurant during the fourth quarter worth about $27,013,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Assurant by 23.4% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 737,099 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $124,194,000 after acquiring an additional 139,680 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc raised its position in Assurant by 20.4% during the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 566,123 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $94,118,000 after purchasing an additional 96,021 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ossiam acquired a new position in shares of Assurant in the fourth quarter worth approximately $14,764,000. 92.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on AIZ shares. Piper Sandler cut 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Assurant from $186.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Assurant from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Assurant from $217.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Assurant currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $209.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 550 shares of the company’s 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 owns 3,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $593,962.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Assurant 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 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Martin Jenns sold 1,500 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.13, for a total value of $267,195.00. Following the transaction, 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 owned by insiders.

Assurant Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of AIZ stock opened at $198.01 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $184.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $177.50. Assurant, Inc. has a 1 year low of $141.83 and a 1 year high of $199.50. The company has a market cap of $10.29 billion, a PE ratio of 13.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.40.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.58 by $0.50. The firm had revenue of $2.92 billion during 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.89 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 3rd. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.10%.

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.