Brown Advisory Inc. Has $1.53 Million Holdings in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Brown Advisory Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) by 82.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,303 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 34,853 shares during the quarter. Brown Advisory Inc.'s holdings in Assurant were worth $1,532,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Assurant during the 4th quarter valued at about $143,475,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Assurant by 12.7% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,740,659 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $784,603,000 after purchasing an additional 420,069 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in Assurant by 1,499.1% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 344,128 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $73,375,000 after purchasing an additional 322,608 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Assurant by 20,818.1% during the 1st 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 during the period. Finally, Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Assurant during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,365,000. Institutional investors own 92.65% of the company's stock.

Assurant Stock Up 1.3%

AIZ stock traded up $2.39 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $188.13. 440,230 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 429,268. 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 $9.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.66 and a beta of 0.59. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $196.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $201.23. Assurant, Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.63 and a 1-year high of $230.55.

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

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th were issued a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 9th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.70%. Assurant's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 shares were sold at an average price of $201.93, for a total value of $201,930.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 11,775 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.51% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AIZ has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Assurant from $217.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Assurant from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target 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. Finally, 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 research report on Thursday, April 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $228.83.

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.