Bridgewater Associates LP Has $15.77 Million Holdings in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Bridgewater Associates LP decreased its holdings in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 79,299 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,172 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP owned approximately 0.15% of Assurant worth $15,769,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in AIZ. Pathstone Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Assurant by 0.5% during the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 10,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,006,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its position in Assurant by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 829 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $165,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in Assurant by 4.2% during the second quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,466 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $244,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in Assurant by 62.1% in the second quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 201 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its position in shares of Assurant by 1.1% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 6,919 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,376,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Assurant news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.18, for a total value of $627,540.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,658 shares in the company, valued at $4,321,240.44. The trade was a 12.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Assurant Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of Assurant stock opened at $227.03 on Thursday. Assurant, Inc. has a 12-month low of $160.12 and a 12-month high of $230.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The business’s 50 day moving average is $202.15 and its 200-day moving average is $185.43. The stock has a market cap of $11.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.19 and a beta of 0.57.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.48. Assurant had a net margin of 6.31% and a return on equity of 17.42%. The firm had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.29 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Assurant, Inc. will post 15.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. This is a positive change from Assurant’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on AIZ shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Assurant from $194.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Assurant from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Assurant from $200.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Assurant from $217.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Assurant currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $225.20.

Assurant Company Profile

Assurant, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides business services that supports, protects, and connects consumer purchases in North America, Latin America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific. The company operates through two segments: Global Lifestyle and Global Housing. The Global Lifestyle segment offers mobile device solutions, and extended service contracts and related services for consumer electronics and appliances, and credit and other insurance products; and vehicle protection, commercial equipment, and other related services.