SG Americas Securities LLC Acquires 56,189 Shares of Assurant, Inc. $AIZ

SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 929.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 62,232 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 56,189 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC owned 0.12% of Assurant worth $14,989,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AIZ. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Assurant by 72.6% in the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC bought a new stake in shares of Assurant in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Assurant by 65.6% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 149 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. BOKF NA purchased a new stake in shares of Assurant during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in Assurant in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. 92.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Assurant

In other news, EVP Subhashish Sengupta sold 1,880 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.53, for a total transaction of $395,796.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 2,895 shares in the company, valued at approximately $609,484.35. This trade represents a 39.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.98, for a total value of $158,235.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,000,256.18. The trade was a 13.66% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 2,650 shares of company stock worth $558,331 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AIZ. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Assurant in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Assurant from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Assurant from $252.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Assurant from $255.00 to $246.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Assurant has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $258.17.

Assurant Stock Performance

NYSE AIZ opened at $212.97 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $226.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $224.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.39. Assurant, Inc. has a 1 year low of $174.97 and a 1 year high of $246.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.58 billion, a PE ratio of 12.55 and a beta of 0.58.

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

Assurant Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be given a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. Assurant’s payout ratio is presently 20.74%.

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.