Blueshift Asset Management LLC Takes Position in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Key Points

• Blueshift Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Assurant, Inc., purchasing 5,397 shares valued at approximately $1,132,000 in the 1st quarter.
• Assurant's stock has been rated with an average of "Moderate Buy" by analysts, with a consensus price target of $228.83.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.80 per share, representing an annualized payout of $3.20 and a yield of 1.7%.

Blueshift Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 5,397 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,132,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. boosted its stake in Assurant by 47.3% during the 1st quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 190 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC raised its holdings in 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 buying an additional 68 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its position in Assurant by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,745 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $995,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV boosted its stake in Assurant by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV now owns 1,620 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $340,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Finally, Amalgamated Bank boosted its stake in Assurant by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 9,918 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,080,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.65% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Jay Rosenblum sold 1,000 shares of the 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 directly owned 11,775 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,377,725.75. This represents a 7.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.51% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on AIZ. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Assurant from $217.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Assurant from $224.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Assurant from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $228.83.

Assurant Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of Assurant stock traded down $0.89 on Friday, reaching $186.41. 421,666 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 344,774. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.41. Assurant, Inc. has a 52 week low of $164.63 and a 52 week high of $230.55. The firm's 50-day moving average is $193.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $199.65. The company has a market capitalization of $9.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.53 and a beta of 0.59.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $3.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.78 by $0.61. The business had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.06 billion. Assurant had a return on equity of 15.49% and a net margin of 5.55%. Assurant's quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.78 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 EPS for the current fiscal 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 yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 9th. Assurant's dividend payout ratio is presently 24.94%.

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.