Assurant, Inc. $AIZ Shares Sold by New York State Teachers Retirement System

New York State Teachers Retirement System reduced its position in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,958 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,540 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Assurant were worth $9,738,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC acquired a new position in shares of Assurant in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. REAP Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Assurant by 193.9% during the second quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 144 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lifted its stake in Assurant by 1,133.3% during the second quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Assurant by 57.8% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 183 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Assurant by 135.7% during the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 231 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AIZ. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Assurant from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Assurant from $255.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Assurant from $248.00 to $254.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Assurant from $232.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Assurant in a report on Monday, December 29th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Assurant presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $252.67.

Assurant Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AIZ opened at $237.68 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $231.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $214.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.47 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Assurant, Inc. has a 52 week low of $174.97 and a 52 week high of $243.76.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The financial services provider reported $5.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.23 by $1.50. Assurant had a return on equity of 18.61% and a net margin of 6.75%.The business had revenue of $3.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.00 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Assurant Increases Dividend

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

Assurant 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.