Assurant, Inc. $AIZ Shares Sold by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 77.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,706 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 9,291 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Assurant were worth $589,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in shares of Assurant by 606.7% during 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 in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Assurant by 19.6% in the first 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 in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new stake in shares of Assurant during the 1st quarter valued at about $203,000. Focus Partners Wealth raised its holdings in shares of Assurant by 66.6% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 2,648 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $556,000 after buying an additional 1,059 shares during the period. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in Assurant by 57.8% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 183 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. 92.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on AIZ. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $310.00 price target on Assurant in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Assurant from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Assurant from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Assurant in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Assurant from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $291.43.

Insider Activity at Assurant

In related news, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total transaction of $511,360.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,741 shares in the company, valued at $700,818.88. This trade represents a 42.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Keith Meier sold 25,000 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.31, for a total transaction of $6,357,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 18,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,717,959.12. This represents a 57.40% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 36,000 shares of company stock worth $9,211,620. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Assurant Stock Performance

Assurant stock opened at $274.95 on Friday. Assurant, Inc. has a 52 week low of $183.39 and a 52 week high of $284.12. 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 market cap of $13.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.06 and a beta of 0.55. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $260.92 and a 200-day moving average of $239.68.

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

Assurant Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th were paid a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 8th. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio is 18.01%.

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.