GW&K Investment Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Assurant, Inc. $AIZ

GW&K Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 25.6% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 274,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 56,009 shares during the period. GW&K Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Assurant were worth $59,537,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Assurant by 72.6% in the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC purchased a new position in Assurant in the second quarter worth $27,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in Assurant by 65.6% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 149 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in Assurant in the third quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in Assurant by 360.0% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 161 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. 92.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Assurant Price Performance

AIZ opened at $232.01 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.39. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $233.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $224.16. The firm has a market cap of $11.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.67 and a beta of 0.58. Assurant, Inc. has a 1 year low of $174.97 and a 1 year high of $246.31.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The financial services provider reported $5.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.55 by $0.06. Assurant had a return on equity of 18.65% and a net margin of 6.81%.The firm had revenue of $3.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.79 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be given a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Assurant’s payout ratio is presently 20.74%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AIZ has been the subject of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Assurant from $252.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Assurant from $255.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Assurant from $255.00 to $246.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Assurant from $232.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Assurant from $248.00 to $254.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Assurant currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $258.17.

Assurant Company Profile

Assurant, Inc is a global provider of risk management products and services, specializing in the housing and lifestyle markets. The company offers insurance and related products designed to help consumers protect their homes, personal belongings, and electronic devices. Its core offerings include renters insurance, manufactured housing finance, flood insurance, mobile device protection plans, and extended service contracts for appliances and electronics.

Within its Global Housing segment, Assurant partners with mortgage lenders, financial institutions and government agencies to deliver specialty insurance and risk mitigation services.