Geode Capital Management LLC Raises Stock Position in Assurant, Inc. $AIZ

Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,372,744 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,625 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Assurant were worth $330,072,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AIZ. Montag A & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Assurant in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Assurant in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Assurant by 65.6% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 149 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. BOKF NA purchased a new stake in shares of Assurant in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Assurant by 360.0% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 161 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the period. 92.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Assurant Price Performance

Shares of AIZ opened at $249.41 on Tuesday. Assurant, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $183.39 and a fifty-two week high of $260.96. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $233.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $231.22. The company has a market cap of $12.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.76 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $5.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $3.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.29 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.79 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Assurant, Inc. will post 21.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. Assurant’s payout ratio is 18.01%.

Insider Activity

In other Assurant news, EVP Jay Rosenblum sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.77, for a total transaction of $503,540.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 12,764 shares in the company, valued at $3,213,592.28. The trade was a 13.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Subhashish Sengupta sold 1,880 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.53, for a total transaction of $395,796.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 2,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $609,484.35. This trade represents a 39.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 31,650 shares of company stock worth $7,930,981. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AIZ shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Assurant from $258.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Assurant from $270.00 to $274.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Assurant from $255.00 to $246.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Assurant from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $275.83.

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.