Assurant, Inc. $AIZ Shares Purchased by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 10.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 612,919 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 56,470 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 1.22% of Assurant worth $132,758,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in shares of Assurant by 606.7% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,060 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $222,000 after buying an additional 910 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Assurant by 19.6% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 290,759 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $60,987,000 after buying an additional 47,548 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new stake in shares of Assurant in the 1st quarter worth about $203,000. Focus Partners Wealth grew its stake in Assurant by 66.6% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 2,648 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $556,000 after acquiring an additional 1,059 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in Assurant by 57.8% in 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 last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Assurant Price Performance

NYSE:AIZ opened at $222.95 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $11.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.14 and a beta of 0.58. 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 company’s 50-day moving average is $232.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $224.42. Assurant, Inc. has a 12-month low of $174.97 and a 12-month high of $246.31.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The financial services provider reported $5.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.55 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $3.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.28 billion. Assurant had a net margin of 6.81% and a return on equity of 18.65%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.79 EPS. Research analysts expect that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 EPS for the current year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be given a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.74%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AIZ. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Assurant from $255.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Assurant from $248.00 to $254.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Assurant from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Assurant from $252.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Assurant from $232.00 to $248.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $258.17.

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.