Great Lakes Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Assurant, Inc. $AIZ

Key Points

• Great Lakes Advisors LLC decreased its position in Assurant, Inc. by 43.9%, owning 4,650 shares valued at approximately $975,000 after selling 3,642 shares in the 1st quarter.
• Assurant reported a net margin of 5.83% and earnings per share (EPS) of $5.56 for the recent quarter, exceeding analyst expectations.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.80, translating to an annualized payout of $3.20, with a dividend yield of 1.5%.

Great Lakes Advisors LLC decreased its position in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) by 43.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,650 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 3,642 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC's holdings in Assurant were worth $975,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AIZ. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new stake in shares of Assurant in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Assurant in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Private Trust Co. NA grew its stake 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 period. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in shares of Assurant by 312.8% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 161 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the period. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.65% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Jay Rosenblum sold 3,900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.53, for a total transaction of $813,267.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 7,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,642,173.75. The trade was a 33.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 950 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.96, for a total transaction of $194,712.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 3,135 shares of the company's stock, valued at $642,549.60. This represents a 23.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 13,400 shares of company stock worth $2,891,288. Corporate insiders own 0.51% of the company's stock.

Assurant Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:AIZ traded up $2.46 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $207.90. The company's stock had a trading volume of 34,872 shares, compared to its average volume of 475,445. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $202.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $199.81. The company has a market capitalization of $10.49 billion, a PE ratio of 15.07 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.40. Assurant, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $174.97 and a fifty-two week high of $230.55.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $5.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $1.13. The business had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.13 billion. Assurant had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 16.47%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.77 earnings per share. Assurant has set its FY 2025 guidance at 22.390-22.390 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Assurant's payout ratio is presently 23.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AIZ has been the subject of several research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Assurant from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Assurant in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. They issued an "overweight" rating for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Assurant from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Benchmark initiated coverage on shares of Assurant in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Assurant from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $233.29.

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.