Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Buys 205,767 Shares of Assurant, Inc. $AIZ

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 22.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,125,406 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 205,767 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 2.26% of Assurant worth $245,121,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Assurant Stock Performance

NYSE AIZ opened at $273.64 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $263.98 and a 200 day moving average of $240.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.00 and a beta of 0.55. Assurant, Inc. has a twelve month low of $183.39 and a twelve month high of $284.12.

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

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th were given a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 8th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Assurant’s payout ratio is presently 18.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AIZ has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen raised Assurant from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Assurant from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Assurant from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Assurant from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Assurant in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $291.43.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Assurant news, EVP Jay Rosenblum sold 2,000 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.77, for a total transaction of $503,540.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 12,764 shares in the company, valued at $3,213,592.28. This trade represents a 13.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Keith Meier sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.31, for a total transaction of $6,357,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 18,552 shares in the company, valued at $4,717,959.12. This trade represents a 57.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 36,000 shares of company stock valued at $9,211,620. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

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.