Vestcor Inc Reduces Stake in Assurant, Inc. $AIZ

Vestcor Inc reduced its position in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 78.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,439 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in Assurant were worth $159,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC purchased a new position in shares of Assurant in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Assurant in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Assurant by 65.6% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 149 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. BOKF NA bought a new position in Assurant in the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Assurant by 57.8% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 183 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. 92.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on AIZ. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Assurant from $258.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Assurant from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Assurant from $268.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Weiss Ratings raised Assurant from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Assurant from $270.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $275.83.

Insider Transactions at Assurant

In other news, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 2,000 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total value of $511,360.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $700,818.88. The trade was a 42.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Keith Meier sold 25,000 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.31, for a total value 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 ninety days, insiders sold 31,650 shares of company stock valued at $7,930,981. 0.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Assurant Price Performance

NYSE:AIZ opened at $257.81 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $238.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $232.52. The stock has a market cap of $12.77 billion, a PE ratio of 13.19 and a beta of 0.56. Assurant, Inc. has a 52 week low of $183.39 and a 52 week high of $260.96.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $5.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.29 by $0.66. Assurant had a return on equity of 20.32% and a net margin of 7.60%.The firm had revenue of $3.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.79 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Assurant, Inc. will post 21.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be issued a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. Assurant’s payout ratio is 18.01%.

Assurant 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.