Cynosure Group LLC Acquires New Position in Assurant, Inc. $AIZ

Cynosure Group LLC acquired a new stake in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,091 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $504,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Assurant by 15.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 124,993 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,076,000 after purchasing an additional 16,388 shares during the period. GW&K Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Assurant by 25.6% in the third quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 274,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $59,537,000 after purchasing an additional 56,009 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its holdings in Assurant by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 185,949 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,786,000 after purchasing an additional 26,678 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Assurant by 603.6% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 7,142 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,547,000 after purchasing an additional 6,127 shares during the period. Finally, Clark Capital Management Group Inc. raised its holdings in Assurant by 2.1% in the third quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 310,802 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $67,320,000 after purchasing an additional 6,277 shares during the period. 92.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on AIZ shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Assurant from $258.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Assurant from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $240.00 to $285.00 in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Assurant from $268.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Assurant from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Assurant from $270.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $275.83.

Insider Transactions at Assurant

In related news, EVP Jay Rosenblum sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.77, for a total transaction of $503,540.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 12,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,213,592.28. This trade represents a 13.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Keith Meier sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 18,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,717,959.12. The trade was a 57.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 31,650 shares of company stock valued at $7,930,981 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Assurant Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:AIZ opened at $260.74 on Wednesday. Assurant, Inc. has a 12 month low of $183.39 and a 12 month high of $262.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $241.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $233.43. The firm has a market cap of $12.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.34 and a beta of 0.56.

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

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 29th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.01%.

Assurant Company Profile

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.