AlphaCentric Advisors LLC Raises Position in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

AlphaCentric Advisors LLC increased its stake in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 97.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,054 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 521 shares during the quarter. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC’s holdings in Assurant were worth $175,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AIZ. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Assurant by 16.2% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 2,247 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $379,000 after buying an additional 314 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in Assurant during the fourth quarter valued at about $539,000. abrdn plc boosted its position in Assurant by 119.8% during the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 11,002 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,854,000 after purchasing an additional 5,997 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its position in Assurant by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 4,999 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $842,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Assurant by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 976 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $164,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Assurant Price Performance

Shares of AIZ traded down $0.25 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $192.76. 227,362 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 350,525. The company has a market cap of $10.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.54. Assurant, Inc. has a 1 year low of $136.15 and a 1 year high of $194.74. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $172.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $174.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.58 by $0.50. Assurant had a return on equity of 20.08% and a net margin of 6.73%. The company had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.89 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.89 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 3rd. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Martin Jenns sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,027 shares in the company, valued at approximately $717,329.51. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP Martin Jenns sold 1,500 shares of the 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 directly owns 4,027 shares in the company, valued at approximately $717,329.51. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 550 shares of the business’s 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 sale, 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 company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AIZ has been the subject of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Assurant from $186.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Bank of America cut their price target on Assurant from $223.00 to $222.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 11th. StockNews.com upgraded Assurant from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Assurant from $210.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered Assurant from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $207.60.

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.