AQR Capital Management LLC Sells 106,007 Shares of Assurant, Inc. $AIZ

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Assurant, Inc. by 10.7%, selling 106,007 shares in the first quarter, leaving it with 880,506 shares valued at approximately $183.1 million.
• Several institutional investors increased their holdings in Assurant, with Graham Capital Management L.P. notably raising its position by 288.4% during the same period.
• Assurant announced a quarterly dividend of $0.80 to be paid on September 29th, representing an annualized yield of 1.5% with a payout ratio of 23.17%.

AQR Capital Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) by 10.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 880,506 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 106,007 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 1.73% of Assurant worth $183,119,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AIZ. Jane Street Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Assurant by 91.8% in the fourth quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 57,055 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $12,165,000 after acquiring an additional 27,302 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Assurant by 37.1% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 56,841 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $12,120,000 after acquiring an additional 15,377 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of Assurant by 57.7% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 137,712 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,363,000 after acquiring an additional 50,407 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Assurant in the fourth quarter valued at $13,070,000. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Assurant by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,984 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,489,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.65% of the company's stock.

Assurant Trading Down 0.3%

AIZ stock traded down $0.64 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $211.11. The company had a trading volume of 72,584 shares, compared to its average volume of 483,045. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.30 and a beta of 0.55. Assurant, Inc. has a 52-week low of $174.97 and a 52-week high of $230.55. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $200.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $199.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

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

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 is Tuesday, September 2nd. Assurant's dividend payout ratio is presently 23.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Assurant news, EVP Jay Rosenblum sold 3,900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.53, for a total transaction of $813,267.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 7,875 shares in the company, valued at $1,642,173.75. This represents a 33.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Keith Demmings sold 4,275 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.27, for a total transaction of $941,654.25. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 98,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,668,400.44. The trade was a 4.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 13,400 shares of company stock worth $2,891,288 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.51% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AIZ. Morgan Stanley reissued a "cautious" rating on shares of Assurant in a research note on Monday, August 18th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Assurant in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $238.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Assurant from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Benchmark began coverage on shares of Assurant in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Finally, Stephens started coverage on shares of Assurant in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. They issued an "overweight" rating on the stock. One 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $233.29.

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.