Cerity Partners LLC Invests $843,000 in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,821 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $843,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AIZ. State of Michigan Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Assurant by 0.7% during the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 14,467 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,737,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Korea Investment CORP lifted its stake in shares of Assurant by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 20,074 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,510,000 after acquiring an additional 673 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Assurant by 1.9% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 83,373 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,011,000 after acquiring an additional 1,574 shares in the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Assurant during the first quarter worth about $410,000. Finally, abrdn plc raised its holdings in Assurant by 2.3% during the first quarter. abrdn plc now owns 14,078 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,690,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. 93.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. TheStreet upgraded Assurant from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 10th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Assurant in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Piper Sandler raised Assurant from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $144.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 13th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Assurant from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Assurant presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $141.00.

Assurant Stock Up 0.5 %

Assurant stock opened at $140.02 on Monday. Assurant, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $104.49 and a fifty-two week high of $165.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.55. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $133.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $126.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.41.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.60 by $1.29. The firm had revenue of $2.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.64 billion. Assurant had a net margin of 3.27% and a return on equity of 13.66%. Analysts predict that Assurant, Inc. will post 12.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 18th. Investors of record on Monday, August 28th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 25th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.00%. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.55%.

Insider Activity at Assurant

In other news, CFO Richard S. Dziadzio sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.19, for a total value of $572,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 51,893 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,430,558.67. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Assurant news, CAO Francesca Luthi sold 3,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.99, for a total transaction of $529,063.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,591,764.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Richard S. Dziadzio sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.19, for a total transaction of $572,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 51,893 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,430,558.67. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 14,700 shares of company stock valued at $2,059,393. 0.39% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Assurant Company 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 products and related services for consumer electronics and appliances, and credit and other insurance products; and vehicle protection, leased and financed solutions, and other related services.