Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP Decreases Stake in Assurant, Inc. $AIZ

Key Points

• Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP has reduced its stake in Assurant, Inc. by 19.1%, bringing its total holdings to 21,206 shares valued at approximately $4.45 million.
• Assurant reported strong financial results with an EPS of $5.56, surpassing analyst expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.80 to be distributed on September 29.
• Institutional investors hold a significant 92.65% of Assurant's stock, indicating strong institutional interest in the company amidst recent insider sales by executives.

Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP trimmed its holdings in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) by 19.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 21,206 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 5,020 shares during the quarter. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP's holdings in Assurant were worth $4,448,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AIZ. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Assurant by 12.7% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,740,659 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $784,603,000 after buying an additional 420,069 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Assurant by 28.0% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,479,310 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $310,285,000 after acquiring an additional 323,573 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Assurant by 1,499.1% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 344,128 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $73,375,000 after acquiring an additional 322,608 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Assurant by 20,818.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 308,123 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $646,290,000 after acquiring an additional 306,650 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Assurant in the 4th quarter worth about $34,365,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.65% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on AIZ shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Assurant from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Stephens started coverage on Assurant in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. They set an "overweight" rating on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded Assurant from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Assurant in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $238.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Assurant from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $233.29.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Jay Rosenblum sold 3,900 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.53, for a total value of $813,267.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 7,875 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,642,173.75. This trade represents a 33.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 950 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.96, for a total transaction of $194,712.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 3,135 shares in the company, valued at approximately $642,549.60. This trade represents a 23.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.51% of the company's stock.

Assurant Stock Performance

AIZ stock traded down $2.1280 during trading on Monday, reaching $213.7920. The stock had a trading volume of 260,897 shares, compared to its average volume of 487,305. The firm has a market cap of $10.79 billion, a PE ratio of 15.48 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock's 50 day moving average is $196.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $198.94. Assurant, Inc. has a 52 week low of $174.97 and a 52 week high of $230.55.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $5.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $1.13. Assurant had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 16.47%. The firm had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.13 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.77 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Assurant has set its FY 2025 guidance at 22.390-22.390 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. Assurant's payout ratio is currently 23.17%.

Assurant Profile

Assurant, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides business services that supports, protects, and connects consumer purchases in North America, Latin America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific. The company operates through two segments: Global Lifestyle and Global Housing. The Global Lifestyle segment offers mobile device solutions, and extended service contracts and related services for consumer electronics and appliances, and credit and other insurance products; and vehicle protection, commercial equipment, and other related services.