Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Has $686,000 Holdings in Assurant, Inc. $AIZ

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund cut its holdings in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 89.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,151 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 25,828 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings in Assurant were worth $686,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AIZ. Ascent Group LLC boosted its stake in Assurant by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 5,339 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,286,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Assurant by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 17,064 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,110,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Assurant by 27.5% in the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 246 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its holdings in shares of Assurant by 0.9% in the first quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 5,739 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,250,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Assurant by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $484,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. 92.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Keith Meier sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 18,552 shares in the company, valued at $4,717,959.12. This trade represents a 57.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Robert Lonergan sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The shares were 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 owned 27,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,191,423.54. This represents a 20.36% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 36,000 shares of company stock valued at $9,211,620 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 25th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Assurant in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $310.00 price target on shares of Assurant in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Assurant from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Assurant from $270.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $291.43.

Assurant Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE AIZ opened at $279.71 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.86 billion, a PE ratio of 14.31 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Assurant, Inc. has a 1 year low of $184.15 and a 1 year high of $284.64. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $266.87 and its 200-day moving average is $242.67.

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

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th were paid a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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 is 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.