Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) Shares Sold by Hennessy Advisors Inc.

Hennessy Advisors Inc. lessened its stake in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) by 10.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 48,500 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 5,500 shares during the quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. owned 0.10% of Assurant worth $10,173,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Assurant by 36.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,320,590 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $708,016,000 after purchasing an additional 891,292 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Assurant by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,399,725 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $299,724,000 after purchasing an additional 10,956 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Assurant by 23.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 831,864 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $177,370,000 after purchasing an additional 156,364 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Assurant in the 4th quarter worth about $143,475,000. Finally, Clark Capital Management Group Inc. raised its holdings in Assurant by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 607,458 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $129,522,000 after purchasing an additional 7,211 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.65% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Jay Rosenblum sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.93, for a total transaction of $201,930.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,775 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,377,725.75. The trade was a 7.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.51% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on AIZ. Morgan Stanley set a $217.00 target price on Assurant and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Piper Sandler raised Assurant from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $223.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Assurant from $224.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Assurant from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $228.67.

Assurant Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE AIZ traded down $1.19 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $198.01. 461,188 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 425,284. The company's 50-day moving average is $195.89 and its 200-day moving average is $205.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.68 and a beta of 0.61. Assurant, Inc. has a 52-week low of $160.12 and a 52-week high of $230.55.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $3.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.78 by $0.61. The firm had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.06 billion. Assurant had a net margin of 6.40% and a return on equity of 17.25%. Assurant's revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.78 EPS. Analysts expect that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.62%. Assurant's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.94%.

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.