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

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 349,361 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,462 shares during the quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Assurant were worth $84,144,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AIZ. Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Assurant by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 2,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $512,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Assurant by 35,088.9% in the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 9,501 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,288,000 after buying an additional 9,474 shares in the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Assurant by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 21,996 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,298,000 after buying an additional 2,880 shares in the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Assurant by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 21,754 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,239,000 after buying an additional 614 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Assurant by 17.3% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,069 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $257,000 after buying an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Assurant Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of NYSE AIZ opened at $247.47 on Friday. Assurant, Inc. has a 12 month low of $183.39 and a 12 month high of $260.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.66 and a beta of 0.56. The business has a 50-day moving average of $231.72 and a 200-day moving average of $230.89.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $5.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.29 by $0.66. Assurant had a return on equity of 20.32% and a net margin of 7.60%.The company had revenue of $3.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.29 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.79 earnings per share. Assurant’s revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Assurant, Inc. will post 21.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 29th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th will be given a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Assurant’s payout ratio is presently 18.01%.

Insider Transactions at Assurant

In related news, EVP Jay Rosenblum sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.77, for a total value of $503,540.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Subhashish Sengupta sold 1,880 shares of Assurant 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 directly owned 2,895 shares in the company, valued at $609,484.35. This trade represents a 39.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 31,650 shares of company stock worth $7,930,981. 0.54% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AIZ shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Assurant from $255.00 to $246.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Assurant from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $240.00 to $285.00 in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Assurant from $268.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Assurant from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Assurant has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.