Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Makes New $3.53 Million Investment in Assurant, Inc. $AIZ

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 16,227 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,534,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Montag A & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Assurant in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC acquired a new stake in Assurant during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. BOKF NA bought a new position in Assurant in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Assurant by 205.5% in the fourth quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC now owns 168 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the period. Finally, Greenline Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Assurant in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. 92.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Assurant news, EVP Keith Meier sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.31, for a total value of $6,357,750.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 18,552 shares in the company, valued at $4,717,959.12. This represents a 57.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jay Rosenblum sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.77, for a total transaction of $503,540.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 12,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,213,592.28. The trade was a 13.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 36,000 shares of company stock valued at $9,211,620. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Assurant Stock Performance

AIZ traded up $3.83 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $283.11. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 51,479 shares, compared to its average volume of 407,011. The firm has a market cap of $14.03 billion, a PE ratio of 14.48 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.39. The company’s 50-day moving average is $253.95 and its 200-day moving average is $237.55. Assurant, Inc. has a 52 week low of $183.39 and a 52 week high of $284.12.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $5.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 analysts’ expectations of $3.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.79 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Assurant, Inc. will post 21.04 EPS for the current year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 8th were issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 8th. Assurant’s payout ratio is presently 18.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Assurant in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 28th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Assurant from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Assurant from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Assurant from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $285.71.

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.