VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Takes Position in Assurant, Inc. $AIZ

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new stake in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 6,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,826,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in Assurant by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 17,064 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,110,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Assurant by 27.5% in the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 246 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its stake in shares of Assurant by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 5,739 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,250,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Assurant by 2.5% in the first quarter. Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $484,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, Cresset Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Assurant by 5.4% during the second quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 1,075 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $212,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Assurant from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Assurant from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 25th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Assurant from $290.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $310.00 target price on shares of Assurant in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $327.14.

Assurant Trading Up 0.6%

Assurant stock opened at $282.58 on Friday. Assurant, Inc. has a 12 month low of $205.01 and a 12 month high of $303.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market cap of $13.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.49 and a beta of 0.54. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $281.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $253.51.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The financial services provider reported $6.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.17 by $1.24. The business had revenue of $3.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.43 billion. Assurant had a return on equity of 20.40% and a net margin of 7.90%.Assurant’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.56 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Assurant, Inc. will post 22.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 31st. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.81%.

Insider Transactions at Assurant

In related news, EVP Robert Lonergan sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.71, for a total value of $1,838,970.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 27,374 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,191,423.54. This represents a 20.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,931 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.46, for a total transaction of $1,188,970.26. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 24,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,333,747.62. The trade was a 13.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Assurant

Assurant, Inc is a global business services and insurance company that provides protection products and services supporting major purchases and everyday needs. Its offerings are designed to help consumers, businesses and distribution partners manage risks associated with connected devices, housing and transportation.

The company’s Lifestyle segment provides mobile device protection, extended service contracts, vehicle service contracts and related services. Its Global Housing segment offers renters insurance, homeowners insurance, lender-placed insurance and other specialty property products.