Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC Sells 2,618 Shares of Assurant, Inc. $AIZ

Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC decreased its position in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 29.9% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 6,133 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,618 shares during the quarter. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Assurant were worth $1,328,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Assurant by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 18,329 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,970,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its position in shares of Assurant by 153.7% in the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 2,187 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $474,000 after buying an additional 1,325 shares during the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd grew its position in shares of Assurant by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 9,546 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,068,000 after buying an additional 793 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its stake in shares of Assurant by 1.9% during the third quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 36,815 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,974,000 after buying an additional 686 shares during the period. Finally, WBH Advisory Inc. bought a new position in shares of Assurant during the third quarter valued at approximately $217,000. 92.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Assurant Stock Down 1.7%

NYSE:AIZ opened at $233.28 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $232.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $216.98. The company has a market capitalization of $11.68 billion, a PE ratio of 14.20 and a beta of 0.56. Assurant, Inc. has a 1-year low of $174.97 and a 1-year high of $243.76.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The financial services provider reported $5.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.23 by $1.50. The company had revenue of $3.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.15 billion. Assurant had a net margin of 6.75% and a return on equity of 18.61%. Assurant’s revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.00 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st were given a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. This is an increase from Assurant’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. Assurant’s payout ratio is presently 21.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AIZ has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research lowered Assurant from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Assurant in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Assurant from $232.00 to $248.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Assurant from $255.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Assurant from $252.00 to $264.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Eight equities research 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 currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $252.67.

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.