Victory Capital Management Inc. Buys 33,220 Shares of Assurant, Inc. $AIZ

Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 30.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 142,804 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 33,220 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.29% of Assurant worth $30,931,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in Assurant by 72.6% in the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC purchased a new position in Assurant during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Assurant by 65.6% in the 3rd 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 stake in shares of Assurant in the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Assurant by 360.0% in 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 during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Assurant Price Performance

AIZ opened at $222.95 on Monday. Assurant, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $174.97 and a fifty-two week high of $246.31. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $232.84 and a 200 day moving average of $224.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market cap of $11.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.14 and a beta of 0.58.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The financial services provider reported $5.61 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.55 by $0.06. Assurant had a net margin of 6.81% and a return on equity of 18.65%. The business had revenue of $3.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.79 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 EPS for the current year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

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 issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio is 20.74%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AIZ. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Assurant from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Assurant from $255.00 to $246.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Assurant from $255.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Assurant from $252.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Assurant from $232.00 to $248.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Assurant currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $258.17.

About Assurant

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.