Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. Cuts Stake in Assurant, Inc. $AIZ

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. lessened its holdings in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 343,899 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 12,165 shares during the quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Assurant were worth $74,489,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Syon Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Assurant by 37.5% in the third quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 1,513 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $328,000 after purchasing an additional 413 shares during the period. NEOS Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Assurant in the 3rd quarter valued at about $210,000. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in shares of Assurant by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $468,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Assurant by 15.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 124,993 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,076,000 after buying an additional 16,388 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D grew its position in shares of Assurant by 9.7% during the third quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 16,398 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,552,000 after buying an additional 1,454 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Assurant Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of AIZ opened at $222.88 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $235.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $222.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.13 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Assurant, Inc. has a twelve month low of $174.97 and a twelve month high of $246.31.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The financial services provider reported $5.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.55 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $3.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.28 billion. Assurant had a net margin of 6.81% and a return on equity of 18.65%. The company’s revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.79 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AIZ has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Assurant from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Assurant from $252.00 to $264.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. UBS Group raised their price objective 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. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Assurant from $255.00 to $246.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Assurant in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $258.17.

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.