Blueshift Asset Management LLC Increases Stock Position in Assurant, Inc. $AIZ

Blueshift Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 98.1% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 10,694 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,297 shares during the period. Assurant accounts for 0.6% of Blueshift Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Blueshift Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Assurant were worth $2,112,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new stake in shares of Assurant during the first quarter worth $26,000. REAP Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Assurant by 193.9% during the 2nd quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 144 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised its stake in shares of Assurant by 1,133.3% during the 2nd quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in Assurant by 312.8% during the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 161 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in Assurant by 57.8% in the 1st 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 period. 92.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Assurant from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Assurant in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $238.00 price target for the company. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Assurant from $255.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Truist Financial set a $255.00 target price on shares of Assurant in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Assurant from $238.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $250.00.

Assurant Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE AIZ opened at $225.47 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $218.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $207.01. Assurant, Inc. has a 12 month low of $174.97 and a 12 month high of $232.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.29 billion, a PE ratio of 16.33 and a beta of 0.56.

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

Assurant Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Assurant

In related news, CEO Keith Demmings sold 13,725 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.52, for a total transaction of $3,026,637.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 84,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,666,356.44. This trade represents a 13.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

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.