Capital Fund Management S.A. Raises Holdings in Assurant, Inc. $AIZ

Key Points

• Capital Fund Management S.A. boosted its stake in Assurant by 42.8% in Q3 and now owns 62,099 shares (about $13.45M), while institutional investors hold roughly 92.65% of the stock.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive with a MarketBeat consensus of "Moderate Buy" and an average target of $258.17, although opinions vary (several firms raised targets while one downgraded to Hold).
• Assurant recently beat quarterly estimates (EPS $5.61 vs. $5.55 expected; revenue $3.35B vs. $3.28B), reported 7.9% YoY revenue growth, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.88 (1.6% yield).

Capital Fund Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) by 42.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 62,099 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 18,603 shares during the quarter. Capital Fund Management S.A. owned about 0.12% of Assurant worth $13,451,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Assurant by 72.6% in the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 126 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC acquired a new position in Assurant during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Assurant by 65.6% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 149 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Assurant during the third quarter worth $34,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of Assurant by 360.0% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 161 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the period. 92.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on AIZ shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Assurant from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Assurant in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Assurant from $252.00 to $264.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Assurant from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Assurant from $232.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $258.17.

Assurant Stock Performance

Shares of AIZ stock opened at $215.28 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Assurant, Inc. has a 12-month low of $174.97 and a 12-month high of $246.31. The business's 50 day moving average is $230.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $224.36. The company has a market capitalization of $10.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.69 and a beta of 0.58.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The financial services provider reported $5.61 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.55 by $0.06. Assurant had a net margin of 6.81% and a return on equity of 18.65%. The business had revenue of $3.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.79 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be issued a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. Assurant's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.74%.

Assurant Profile

Assurant, Inc is a global provider of risk management products and services, specializing in the housing and lifestyle markets. The company offers insurance and related products designed to help consumers protect their homes, personal belongings, and electronic devices. Its core offerings include renters insurance, manufactured housing finance, flood insurance, mobile device protection plans, and extended service contracts for appliances and electronics.

Within its Global Housing segment, Assurant partners with mortgage lenders, financial institutions and government agencies to deliver specialty insurance and risk mitigation services.

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