GW&K Investment Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

GW&K Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) by 50.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 216,656 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 72,673 shares during the period. GW&K Investment Management LLC owned 0.43% of Assurant worth $45,443,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Assurant by 12.7% in 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 acquiring an additional 420,069 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Assurant by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,399,725 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $299,724,000 after buying an additional 10,956 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Assurant by 23.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 831,864 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $177,370,000 after buying an additional 156,364 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Assurant in the fourth quarter valued at about $143,475,000. Finally, Clark Capital Management Group Inc. raised its stake in Assurant by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 607,458 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $129,522,000 after buying an additional 7,211 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.65% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Jay Rosenblum sold 1,000 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 11,775 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,377,725.75. The trade was a 7.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.51% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Assurant Stock Performance

AIZ stock traded down $0.62 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $187.61. The company had a trading volume of 425,308 shares, compared to its average volume of 429,433. Assurant, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $164.63 and a fifty-two week high of $230.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.54 billion, a PE ratio of 14.62 and a beta of 0.59. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $196.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $200.90.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.78 by $0.61. The business had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.06 billion. Assurant had a net margin of 5.55% and a return on equity of 15.49%. Assurant's revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.78 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th were paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 9th. Assurant's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.94%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on AIZ. Wall Street Zen lowered Assurant from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Assurant from $224.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Piper Sandler raised Assurant from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $223.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Assurant from $217.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $228.83.

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.