Millennium Management LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Assurant, Inc. $AIZ

Key Points

• Millennium Management LLC reduced its stake in Assurant, Inc. by 32.5% in the first quarter, holding 232,303 shares valued at approximately $48.7 million after selling 111,825 shares.
• Assurant declared a quarterly dividend of $0.80 per share, payable on September 29th, representing an annualized yield of 1.5%.
• Zacks Research upgraded Assurant to a "strong-buy" rating, while the stock has an average price target of $233.29 from several analysts.

Millennium Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) by 32.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 232,303 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 111,825 shares during the quarter. Millennium Management LLC owned about 0.46% of Assurant worth $48,726,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AIZ. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Assurant by 37.1% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 56,841 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $12,120,000 after purchasing an additional 15,377 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Assurant by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,984 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,489,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Assurant by 15.2% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 6,932 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,478,000 after purchasing an additional 917 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Assurant by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 18,583 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,962,000 after purchasing an additional 1,514 shares during the period. Finally, Ethic Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Assurant by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 8,015 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,709,000 after purchasing an additional 1,101 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.65% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Keith Demmings sold 4,275 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 98,372 shares in the company, valued at $21,668,400.44. The trade was a 4.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 950 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.96, for a total value 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 13,400 shares of company stock worth $2,891,288. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Assurant Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of AIZ stock traded down $0.28 on Friday, reaching $213.03. 246,494 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 365,000. Assurant, Inc. has a 52 week low of $174.97 and a 52 week high of $230.55. 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 has a market capitalization of $10.75 billion, a PE ratio of 15.43 and a beta of 0.55. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $201.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $199.76.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $5.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.43 by $1.13. The business had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. Assurant had a return on equity of 16.47% and a net margin of 5.83%.Assurant's revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.77 EPS. Assurant has set its FY 2025 guidance at 22.390-22.390 EPS. As a group, 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, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Assurant's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AIZ has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Assurant in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $238.00 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Assurant from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Morgan Stanley reissued a "cautious" rating on shares of Assurant in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Stephens assumed coverage on Assurant in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. They set an "overweight" rating for the company. Finally, Benchmark assumed coverage on Assurant in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $233.29.

Assurant Company 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.