Alpine Global Management LLC Acquires New Stake in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Alpine Global Management LLC purchased a new position in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 3,710 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $791,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vise Technologies Inc. acquired a new position in Assurant during the fourth quarter worth $568,000. iSAM Funds UK Ltd purchased a new stake in Assurant in the 4th quarter valued at about $617,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its holdings in Assurant by 1,401.0% in the 4th quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 20,939 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,465,000 after buying an additional 19,544 shares during the period. Twinbeech Capital LP acquired a new position in Assurant in the fourth quarter valued at about $480,000. Finally, State of Wyoming increased its position in shares of Assurant by 81.6% during the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 296 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. 92.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Assurant

In related news, EVP Jay Rosenblum sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.93, for a total value of $201,930.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,775 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,377,725.75. This represents a 7.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.51% of the company's stock.

Assurant Stock Down 0.7%

NYSE AIZ traded down $1.41 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $199.59. 366,001 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 399,119. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $196.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $206.99. The stock has a market cap of $10.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.79 and a beta of 0.59. Assurant, Inc. has a 1 year low of $160.12 and a 1 year high of $230.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.43.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $3.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.78 by $0.61. The firm had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.06 billion. Assurant had a net margin of 6.40% and a return on equity of 17.25%. Assurant's quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.78 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. Assurant's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.94%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Assurant from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Piper Sandler upgraded Assurant from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $223.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Assurant from $224.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Assurant from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $217.00 price target on shares of Assurant and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Assurant has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $228.67.

About Assurant

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.