Lazard Asset Management LLC Has $9.54 Million Stake in Assurant, Inc. $AIZ

Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 130.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 43,809 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 24,815 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned 0.09% of Assurant worth $9,542,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its stake in Assurant by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 185,949 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,786,000 after buying an additional 26,678 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Assurant by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 349,361 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $84,144,000 after buying an additional 5,462 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its stake in Assurant by 198.9% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 11,997 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,889,000 after acquiring an additional 7,983 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio grew its holdings in Assurant by 972.1% during the fourth quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 12,994 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,130,000 after purchasing an additional 11,782 shares during the period. Finally, Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Assurant by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 120,815 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,098,000 after acquiring an additional 14,864 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Assurant

In related news, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 2,000 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total value of $511,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 2,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $700,818.88. This trade represents a 42.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Keith Meier sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.31, for a total transaction of $6,357,750.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 18,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,717,959.12. The trade was a 57.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 36,000 shares of company stock valued at $9,211,620. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Assurant Trading Down 0.8%

AIZ opened at $280.93 on Thursday. Assurant, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $183.39 and a fifty-two week high of $284.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.37 and a beta of 0.55. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $265.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $242.06.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $5.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.29 by $0.66. The firm had revenue of $3.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.29 billion. Assurant had a net margin of 7.60% and a return on equity of 20.32%. The company’s revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.79 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Assurant, Inc. will post 21.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 8th were issued a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 8th. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Assurant from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Assurant from $270.00 to $274.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Assurant from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Assurant from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 25th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Assurant presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $291.43.

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.