Squarepoint Ops LLC Has $4.47 Million Stake in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its holdings in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) by 1,401.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 20,939 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 19,544 shares during the quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC's holdings in Assurant were worth $4,465,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Assurant by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 7,469 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,593,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Assurant by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 553 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $118,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Assurant by 127.1% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 134 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its stake in Assurant by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 7,699 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,642,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Assurant by 30.0% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 364 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $78,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.65% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AIZ has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley set a $217.00 price objective on shares of Assurant and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Assurant from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased 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 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Assurant from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $228.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Assurant news, EVP Jay Rosenblum sold 1,000 shares of the business's 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,377,725.75. The trade was a 7.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.51% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Assurant Stock Performance

AIZ stock traded down $3.31 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $197.69. The company had a trading volume of 888,956 shares, compared to its average volume of 401,158. Assurant, Inc. has a one year low of $160.12 and a one year high of $230.55. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $196.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $206.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.66 and a beta of 0.59.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Assurant had a net margin of 6.40% and a return on equity of 17.25%. The business had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.78 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 EPS for the current year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be given a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. Assurant's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.94%.

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.