World Investment Advisors Has $1.93 Million Holdings in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

World Investment Advisors lifted its holdings in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) by 21.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,185 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,595 shares during the quarter. World Investment Advisors' holdings in Assurant were worth $1,927,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in Assurant during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in shares of Assurant by 192.2% in the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 149 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in shares of Assurant by 219.1% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 150 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Assurant by 503.1% in the 4th quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. 92.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AIZ has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Assurant from $224.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Assurant from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. Piper Sandler raised Assurant from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $223.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $217.00 price objective on Assurant and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $228.67.

Assurant Stock Performance

AIZ traded down $0.65 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $189.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 248,212 shares, compared to its average volume of 427,426. Assurant, Inc. has a 52 week low of $162.12 and a 52 week high of $230.55. The company's 50-day moving average is $197.61 and its 200-day moving average is $202.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.41. The firm has a market cap of $9.66 billion, a PE ratio of 14.80 and a beta of 0.59.

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

Assurant Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th were given a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 9th. Assurant's payout ratio is currently 24.94%.

Insider Activity at Assurant

In related 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 11,775 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,377,725.75. This trade represents a 7.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.51% of the company's stock.

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.