Edgestream Partners L.P. Takes $1.32 Million Position in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new stake in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 6,298 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,321,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AIZ. MQS Management LLC purchased a new position in Assurant during the 1st quarter valued at about $284,000. LRI Investments LLC raised its position in Assurant by 31.6% in the 1st quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 728 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $153,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its holdings in Assurant by 6.2% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,605 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,176,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. grew its stake in Assurant by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 26,780 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,617,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CFC Planning Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of Assurant in the first quarter worth about $221,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.65% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Assurant

In other news, EVP Jay Rosenblum sold 1,000 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.93, for a total transaction of $201,930.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.51% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AIZ has been the subject of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Assurant from $224.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Morgan Stanley increased 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. Piper Sandler raised shares of Assurant from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $223.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Assurant from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Assurant currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $228.83.

Assurant Stock Up 1.2%

NYSE:AIZ traded up $2.15 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $188.25. The company had a trading volume of 215,770 shares, compared to its average volume of 429,448. The company has a current ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Assurant, Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.63 and a 12-month high of $230.55. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $196.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $200.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.67 and a beta of 0.59.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $3.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $3.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.78 EPS. The company's revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th were issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.70%. 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.