Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Decreases Holdings in Assurant, Inc. $AIZ

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc reduced its holdings in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 7.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 25,974 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,001 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc owned approximately 0.05% of Assurant worth $5,130,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new stake in Assurant during the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. REAP Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Assurant by 193.9% during the 2nd quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 144 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lifted its position in Assurant by 1,133.3% in the second quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in Assurant by 312.8% in the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 161 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Assurant by 57.8% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 183 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Assurant Stock Performance

Shares of AIZ opened at $226.10 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.37 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.40. Assurant, Inc. has a 1 year low of $174.97 and a 1 year high of $232.02. The company’s fifty day moving average is $216.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $206.00.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.80 earnings per share for the quarter. Assurant had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 16.47%. The business had revenue of $2.42 billion for the quarter. Assurant has set its FY 2022 guidance at $13.062-$13.512 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Assurant Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. This is a positive change from Assurant’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 1st. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Benchmark initiated coverage on Assurant in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Truist Financial set a $255.00 price objective on Assurant in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Assurant from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Assurant in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Assurant from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Assurant presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $250.00.

Insider Activity at Assurant

In other news, CEO Keith Demmings sold 13,725 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.52, for a total value of $3,026,637.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 84,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,666,356.44. This trade represents a 13.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 22,275 shares of company stock valued at $4,909,946. 0.51% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.