Raymond James & Associates Sells 1,129 Shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Raymond James & Associates trimmed its holdings in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 10.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,617 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,129 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in Assurant were worth $1,209,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AIZ. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Assurant by 38.7% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 18,466 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,322,000 after acquiring an additional 5,150 shares in the last quarter. Community Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Assurant by 4.4% in the second quarter. Community Capital Management LLC now owns 8,550 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,075,000 after acquiring an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning raised its holdings in shares of Assurant by 15.5% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 2,178 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $274,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Assurant in the second quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, New Mexico Educational Retirement Board raised its holdings in shares of Assurant by 8.3% in the second quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 2,611 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $328,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 93.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Assurant

In related news, CAO Francesca Luthi sold 3,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.99, for a total value of $529,063.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,132 shares in the company, valued at $1,591,764.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Assurant news, CFO Richard S. Dziadzio sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Francesca Luthi sold 3,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.99, for a total value of $529,063.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,591,764.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.39% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AIZ has been the subject of several recent research reports. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Assurant from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 3rd. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Assurant in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Assurant from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 2nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $145.20.

Assurant Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AIZ opened at $163.79 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $144.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $134.58. The firm has a market cap of $8.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.66, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.50. Assurant, Inc. has a 52 week low of $104.49 and a 52 week high of $167.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 1st. The financial services provider reported $4.29 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $1.81. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.70 billion. Assurant had a return on equity of 17.47% and a net margin of 4.89%. Assurant’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.01 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Assurant, Inc. will post 12.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 18th. Investors of record on Monday, August 28th were given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 25th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.71%. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.48%.

Assurant 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.