Guggenheim Capital LLC Cuts Holdings in Assurant, Inc. $AIZ

Guggenheim Capital LLC lessened its stake in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 72,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,783 shares during the quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC owned 0.14% of Assurant worth $14,405,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AIZ. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its stake in Assurant by 42.4% in the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 1,374 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $288,000 after acquiring an additional 409 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Assurant by 35.8% in the 1st quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 31,669 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,643,000 after purchasing an additional 8,351 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its position in shares of Assurant by 18.4% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $278,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Assurant by 5.8% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,224 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,725,000 after purchasing an additional 451 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. purchased a new position in Assurant in the first quarter valued at $2,248,000. 92.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Keith Demmings sold 13,725 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.52, for a total transaction of $3,026,637.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 84,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,666,356.44. This trade represents a 13.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Assurant Price Performance

AIZ stock opened at $224.47 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The company has a market capitalization of $11.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.66 and a beta of 0.57. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $219.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $207.37. Assurant, Inc. has a twelve month low of $174.97 and a twelve month high of $232.02.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.80 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $2.42 billion for the quarter. Assurant had a net margin of 6.75% and a return on equity of 18.61%. Assurant has set its FY 2022 guidance at $13.062-$13.512 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 EPS for the current year.

Assurant Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. This is a positive change from Assurant’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 1st. Assurant’s payout ratio is currently 21.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on AIZ shares. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Assurant in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $238.00 price target for the company. UBS Group raised their target price on Assurant from $255.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Wall Street Zen raised Assurant from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of 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 restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Assurant in a report on Monday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $250.00.

Assurant 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.