Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Trims Stock Holdings in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. decreased its position in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) by 83.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,337 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 22,195 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Assurant were worth $910,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Assurant by 36.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,320,590 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $708,016,000 after acquiring an additional 891,292 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Assurant during the 4th quarter worth approximately $143,475,000. Millennium Management LLC raised 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 purchasing an additional 322,608 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Assurant by 20,818.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 308,123 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $646,290,000 after purchasing an additional 306,650 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Assurant in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,365,000. 92.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Assurant Stock Performance

AIZ stock traded up $0.68 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $196.04. The company's stock had a trading volume of 598,316 shares, compared to its average volume of 428,626. The stock has a market cap of $9.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.28 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $196.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $204.18. Assurant, Inc. has a 1 year low of $160.12 and a 1 year high of $230.55.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $3.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.78 by $0.61. Assurant had a net margin of 5.55% and a return on equity of 15.49%. The company had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.78 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 EPS for the current year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.63%. Assurant's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.94%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Assurant from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Assurant from $224.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Assurant from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $223.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $228.67.

Insider Activity at Assurant

In other Assurant news, EVP Jay Rosenblum sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.93, for a total value of $201,930.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,775 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,377,725.75. This trade represents a 7.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.51% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.