102,248 Shares in Assurant, Inc. $AIZ Purchased by Arete Wealth Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Arete Wealth Advisors purchased 102,248 Assurant shares worth approximately $22.3 million, making AIZ about 1.4% of its portfolio. Institutional investors collectively own 92.65% of the company.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with nine Buy ratings and one Hold rating; the consensus is “Moderate Buy” with a $291.43 target price. Assurant shares recently opened at $282.44, near their 52-week high.
• Assurant exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $5.95 in EPS and $3.42 billion in revenue, with revenue up 11.3% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.88, equivalent to a 1.2% annual yield.

Arete Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 102,248 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $22,271,000. Assurant comprises approximately 1.4% of Arete Wealth Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC owned 0.21% of Assurant as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ascent Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Assurant by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 5,339 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,286,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Assurant by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 17,064 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,110,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in Assurant by 27.5% in the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 246 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its holdings in Assurant by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 5,739 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,250,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cresset Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Assurant by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 1,075 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $212,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. 92.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AIZ. Wall Street Zen cut Assurant from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 25th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Assurant from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Weiss Ratings cut Assurant from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Assurant from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Assurant from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $291.43.

Assurant Price Performance

Assurant stock opened at $282.44 on Friday. Assurant, Inc. has a 1 year low of $184.15 and a 1 year high of $284.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.39. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $266.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $242.38. The company has a market cap of $13.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.45 and a beta of 0.55.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $5.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $3.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.79 EPS. Assurant's revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Assurant, Inc. will post 21.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 29th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th were issued a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 8th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Assurant's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.01%.

Insider Transactions at Assurant

In other Assurant news, EVP Keith Meier sold 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 18,552 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,717,959.12. The trade was a 57.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $503,540.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 12,764 shares in the company, valued at $3,213,592.28. This represents a 13.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 36,000 shares of company stock worth $9,211,620 over the last ninety days. 0.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.

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