Cetera Investment Advisers Has $4.64 Million Stake in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 19.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,123 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,540 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in Assurant were worth $4,640,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. lifted its holdings in Assurant by 47.3% during the 1st quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 190 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC raised its holdings in Assurant by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 553 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $118,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Assurant by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,745 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $995,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV raised its holdings in Assurant by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV now owns 1,620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $340,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amalgamated Bank raised its holdings in Assurant by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 9,918 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,080,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. 92.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Assurant

In related news, EVP Jay Rosenblum sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.93, for a total transaction of $201,930.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 11,775 shares in the company, valued at $2,377,725.75. This represents a 7.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Assurant Price Performance

Shares of AIZ opened at $186.41 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $9.48 billion, a PE ratio of 14.53 and a beta of 0.58. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $193.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $199.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Assurant, Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.63 and a 12-month high of $230.55.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $3.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.78 by $0.61. Assurant had a return on equity of 15.49% and a net margin of 5.55%. The company had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.78 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th were given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 9th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on AIZ shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Assurant from $217.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen cut Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. Piper Sandler raised Assurant from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $223.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Assurant from $224.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $228.83.

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 contracts and related services for consumer electronics and appliances, and credit and other insurance products; and vehicle protection, commercial equipment, and other related services.