Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC Trims Stock Position in Assurant, Inc. $AIZ

Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC lessened its position in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 29.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,133 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,618 shares during the period. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Assurant were worth $1,328,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in Assurant by 1,823.1% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 45,386 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,871,000 after buying an additional 43,026 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Assurant by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 455,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $89,872,000 after acquiring an additional 6,041 shares during the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Assurant during the third quarter worth about $22,949,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of Assurant by 29.3% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 665,683 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $143,588,000 after purchasing an additional 150,907 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in Assurant by 458.4% in the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 79,845 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $15,769,000 after purchasing an additional 65,546 shares in the last quarter. 92.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Assurant Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of NYSE:AIZ opened at $233.28 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.20 and a beta of 0.56. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $232.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $216.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Assurant, Inc. has a 12-month low of $174.97 and a 12-month high of $243.76.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The financial services provider reported $5.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.23 by $1.50. Assurant had a return on equity of 18.61% and a net margin of 6.75%.The company had revenue of $3.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.00 EPS. Assurant’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Assurant Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st were paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. This is a boost from Assurant’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. Assurant’s payout ratio is currently 21.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on AIZ shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Assurant from $248.00 to $254.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Assurant from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Assurant from $252.00 to $264.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Truist Financial set a $255.00 price target on Assurant in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Assurant from $255.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $252.67.

About Assurant

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.