Assurant, Inc. $AIZ Shares Sold by Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc.

Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. decreased its holdings in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 77.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,086 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,703 shares during the quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Assurant were worth $235,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in shares of Assurant by 606.7% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,060 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $222,000 after buying an additional 910 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Assurant by 19.6% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 290,759 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $60,987,000 after acquiring an additional 47,548 shares during the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new stake in Assurant during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its position in Assurant by 66.6% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 2,648 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $556,000 after acquiring an additional 1,059 shares during the period. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Assurant by 57.8% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 183 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $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 Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of AIZ opened at $217.19 on Friday. Assurant, Inc. has a twelve month low of $174.97 and a twelve month high of $246.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.80 and a beta of 0.56. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $235.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $221.90.

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

Assurant Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be given a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. Assurant’s payout ratio is presently 20.74%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Truist Financial upped their price target on Assurant from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Assurant from $255.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Assurant from $252.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Assurant in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Assurant from $248.00 to $254.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.