Magnetar Financial LLC Invests $617,000 in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 3,714 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $617,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AIZ. AMF Tjanstepension AB acquired a new position in Assurant during the 1st quarter worth approximately $39,013,000. Gillson Capital LP acquired a new position in Assurant during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,013,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Assurant by 23.4% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 737,099 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $124,194,000 after purchasing an additional 139,680 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc increased 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Ossiam acquired a new position in Assurant during the 4th quarter worth approximately $14,764,000. 92.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Assurant

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AIZ. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective 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 cut shares of Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Assurant from $217.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Piper Sandler cut shares of Assurant from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $209.00.

Assurant Trading Down 0.4 %

AIZ opened at $197.31 on Wednesday. Assurant, Inc. has a twelve month low of $141.83 and a twelve month high of $199.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company has a fifty day moving average of $184.85 and a 200-day moving average of $177.63. The stock has a market cap of $10.26 billion, a PE ratio of 13.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.57.

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, topping the consensus estimate 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 earnings per share. Assurant’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.54 EPS for the current year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 3rd. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.10%.

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.