Quarry LP Boosts Position in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Quarry LP increased its holdings in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 1,580.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,143 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,075 shares during the quarter. Quarry LP’s holdings in Assurant were worth $190,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AIZ. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Assurant by 32.5% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,041,678 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $173,179,000 after acquiring an additional 255,471 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Assurant by 23.4% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 737,099 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $124,194,000 after acquiring an additional 139,680 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Assurant by 1.9% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 698,677 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $116,159,000 after acquiring an additional 12,935 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in Assurant by 20.4% in 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, Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in Assurant by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 383,549 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $63,765,000 after purchasing an additional 2,700 shares in the last quarter. 92.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Assurant Price Performance

AIZ stock opened at $198.90 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.34 billion, a PE ratio of 13.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.57. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $186.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $178.01. Assurant, Inc. has a one year low of $141.83 and a one year high of $201.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.40.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.58 by $0.50. The firm had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarter last year, the business posted $3.89 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.10%.

Insider Activity at Assurant

In other news, 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,027 shares in the company, valued at approximately $717,329.51. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Assurant news, EVP Martin Jenns sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,027 shares in the company, valued at $717,329.51. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 550 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on AIZ shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Assurant from $217.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Assurant from $223.00 to $222.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Assurant from $186.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $209.00.

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.