Inceptionr LLC Purchases New Stake in Assurant, Inc. $AIZ

Inceptionr LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 3,216 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $700,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Assurant by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,040,347 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,213,968,000 after purchasing an additional 29,974 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Assurant by 22.4% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,125,406 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $245,121,000 after buying an additional 205,767 shares during the period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Assurant by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 697,555 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $168,006,000 after buying an additional 49,698 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Assurant in the 4th quarter valued at about $161,574,000. Finally, Morgan Stanley grew its stake in Assurant by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 640,431 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $154,248,000 after buying an additional 31,432 shares during the last quarter. 92.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AIZ has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Assurant in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Assurant from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $310.00 target price on Assurant in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on Assurant from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $291.43.

Assurant Trading Up 1.0%

AIZ stock opened at $276.61 on Friday. Assurant, Inc. has a 52 week low of $183.39 and a 52 week high of $284.12. The company has a market capitalization of $13.71 billion, a PE ratio of 14.15 and a beta of 0.55. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $264.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $241.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.39.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $5.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.29 by $0.66. Assurant had a net margin of 7.60% and a return on equity of 20.32%. The business had revenue of $3.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.29 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.79 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Assurant, Inc. will post 21.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th were issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 8th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Assurant

In related news, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total value of $511,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $700,818.88. The trade was a 42.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Keith Meier sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.31, for a total value of $6,357,750.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 18,552 shares in the company, valued at $4,717,959.12. This represents a 57.40% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 36,000 shares of company stock valued at $9,211,620 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

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.