78,774 Shares in Assurant, Inc. $AIZ Bought by Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC

Key Points

• Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC bought 78,774 shares of Assurant valued at approximately $17,062,000 in Q3, representing about 0.16% ownership of the company.
• Analyst coverage is broadly positive with eight Buys and two Holds, an average price target of $258.17, and several firms recently raising targets while one (Wall Street Zen) downgraded to Hold.
• Assurant beat expectations last quarter with $5.61 EPS vs. $5.55 expected and $3.35B revenue vs. $3.28B expected; the company has a market cap of $10.86B, a PE of 12.87, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.88 (annualized $3.52, ~1.6% yield).

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 78,774 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $17,062,000. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC owned approximately 0.16% of Assurant as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AIZ. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Assurant by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,775,234 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,338,041,000 after purchasing an additional 88,749 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Assurant by 23.7% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,010,373 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,085,247,000 after purchasing an additional 959,259 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Assurant by 4.5% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,245,022 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $245,879,000 after buying an additional 53,773 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Assurant by 15.1% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 862,500 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $186,808,000 after buying an additional 113,235 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Assurant by 29.3% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 665,683 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $143,588,000 after buying an additional 150,907 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.65% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on AIZ. Wall Street Zen downgraded Assurant from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Assurant from $232.00 to $248.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Assurant from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. 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 report on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Assurant in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $258.17.

Assurant Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of AIZ stock opened at $218.46 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $10.86 billion, a PE ratio of 12.87 and a beta of 0.58. Assurant, Inc. has a 1 year low of $174.97 and a 1 year high of $246.31. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $230.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $224.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.39.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The financial services provider reported $5.61 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.55 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $3.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.28 billion. Assurant had a return on equity of 18.65% and a net margin of 6.81%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.79 EPS. Research analysts predict that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. Assurant's payout ratio is presently 20.74%.

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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