Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Has $1.38 Million Stock Position in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its stake in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 1.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,919 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Assurant were worth $1,376,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Leuthold Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Assurant during the first quarter worth $3,730,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Assurant by 210.7% during the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,705 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,639,000 after purchasing an additional 5,903 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in shares of Assurant during the first quarter worth $1,213,000. SteelPeak Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Assurant by 770.1% during the second quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 13,051 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,170,000 after purchasing an additional 11,551 shares during the period. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Assurant by 608.5% during the first quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 5,640 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,062,000 after purchasing an additional 4,844 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Assurant

In other news, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 550 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.44, for a total transaction of $103,642.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $593,962.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 550 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.44, for a total transaction of $103,642.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $593,962.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Martin Jenns sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $717,329.51. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on AIZ shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Assurant from $186.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Assurant from $200.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Assurant from $228.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Assurant from $217.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $214.60.

Assurant Trading Down 0.3 %

AIZ opened at $193.71 on Wednesday. Assurant, Inc. has a 1-year low of $144.74 and a 1-year high of $201.55. 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 company has a market cap of $10.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $193.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $179.45.

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

Assurant Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. Assurant’s payout ratio 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.