United Capital Financial Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 1,855 Assurant, Inc. $AIZ

United Capital Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,855 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $498,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in Assurant by 606.7% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,060 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $222,000 after buying an additional 910 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in Assurant by 19.6% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 290,759 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $60,987,000 after acquiring an additional 47,548 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new position in Assurant in the first quarter valued at about $203,000. Focus Partners Wealth increased its holdings in shares of Assurant by 66.6% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 2,648 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $556,000 after acquiring an additional 1,059 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Assurant by 57.8% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 183 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. 92.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Assurant news, EVP Nair Biju sold 3,931 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.46, for a total value of $1,188,970.26. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 24,247 shares in the company, valued at $7,333,747.62. This trade represents a 13.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Robert Lonergan sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.71, for a total transaction of $1,838,970.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 27,374 shares in the company, valued at $7,191,423.54. This represents a 20.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on AIZ. UBS Group raised their price target on Assurant from $274.00 to $331.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen cut Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Assurant from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $310.00 price target on shares of Assurant in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Assurant from $290.00 to $329.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Assurant currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $327.14.

Assurant Stock Down 1.3%

AIZ stock opened at $282.06 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $279.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $249.70. The company has a market cap of $13.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.47 and a beta of 0.55. Assurant, Inc. has a twelve month low of $205.01 and a twelve month high of $303.94.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The financial services provider reported $6.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.17 by $1.24. Assurant had a return on equity of 20.40% and a net margin of 7.90%.The company had revenue of $3.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.56 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Assurant, Inc. will post 22.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 28th. Investors of record on Monday, August 31st will be 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 is Monday, August 31st. Assurant’s payout ratio is presently 16.81%.

Assurant 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.