6,004 Shares in Assurant, Inc. $AIZ Bought by Kentucky Retirement Systems

Kentucky Retirement Systems bought a new stake in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 6,004 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,308,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Assurant by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,040,347 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,213,968,000 after purchasing an additional 29,974 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Assurant by 22.4% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,125,406 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $245,121,000 after purchasing an additional 205,767 shares in the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Assurant by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 697,555 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $168,006,000 after purchasing an additional 49,698 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Assurant in the fourth quarter worth about $161,574,000. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in shares of Assurant by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 640,431 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $154,248,000 after purchasing an additional 31,432 shares during the last quarter. 92.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Assurant Stock Performance

Assurant stock opened at $279.71 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $266.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $242.64. 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 has a market cap of $13.86 billion, a PE ratio of 14.31 and a beta of 0.55. Assurant, Inc. has a twelve month low of $184.15 and a twelve month high of $284.64.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $5.95 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.29 by $0.66. The firm had revenue of $3.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.29 billion. Assurant had a net margin of 7.60% and a return on equity of 20.32%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.79 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Assurant, Inc. will post 21.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 8th were given a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 8th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio is 18.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AIZ has been the subject of a number of research reports. Truist Financial increased their price target on Assurant from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 25th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Assurant in a report on Monday, June 22nd. UBS Group upped their price objective on Assurant from $270.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Assurant from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $291.43.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Robert Lonergan sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.71, for a total value of $1,838,970.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 27,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,191,423.54. This trade represents a 20.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total value of $511,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $700,818.88. The trade was a 42.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 36,000 shares of company stock valued at $9,211,620. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.