Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC Takes Position in Assurant, Inc. $AIZ

Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 3,004 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $839,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AIZ. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Assurant in the fourth quarter valued at about $161,574,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its position in shares of Assurant by 676.5% during the 4th quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 240,240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $57,862,000 after acquiring an additional 209,300 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Assurant by 22.4% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,125,406 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $245,121,000 after acquiring an additional 205,767 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Assurant by 122.9% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 322,235 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $77,610,000 after acquiring an additional 177,642 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gillson Capital LP boosted its stake in shares of Assurant by 62.6% during the 4th quarter. Gillson Capital LP now owns 390,205 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $93,981,000 after acquiring an additional 150,168 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Assurant Stock Performance

Shares of AIZ opened at $282.76 on Friday. Assurant, Inc. has a 12-month low of $205.01 and a 12-month high of $303.94. The stock has a market cap of $13.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.50 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a 50-day moving average of $273.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $246.17.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The financial services provider reported $6.41 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.17 by $1.24. Assurant had a net margin of 7.90% and a return on equity of 20.40%. The business had revenue of $3.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.56 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Assurant, Inc. will post 21.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 28th. Investors of record on Monday, August 31st will be paid a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 31st. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on AIZ shares. Weiss Ratings raised Assurant from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Assurant from $290.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 25th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Assurant from $310.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Assurant from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $313.71.

Insider Activity at Assurant

In other Assurant news, EVP Nair Biju sold 3,931 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.46, for a total transaction of $1,188,970.26. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 24,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,333,747.62. This represents a 13.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Robert Lonergan sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 27,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,191,423.54. The trade was a 20.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,931 shares of company stock valued at $3,539,300. 0.54% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Assurant

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.