Mount Lucas Management LP Has $976,000 Stake in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Mount Lucas Management LP lessened its position in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) by 50.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,651 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 4,719 shares during the quarter. Mount Lucas Management LP's holdings in Assurant were worth $976,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. lifted its holdings in Assurant by 47.3% during the first quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 190 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC increased its position in Assurant by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 553 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $118,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of Assurant by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,745 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $995,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV boosted its position in shares of Assurant by 5.2% during the first quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV now owns 1,620 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $340,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amalgamated Bank boosted its position in Assurant by 0.9% in the first quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 9,918 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,080,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.65% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Assurant

In other news, EVP Jay Rosenblum sold 1,000 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 11,775 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,377,725.75. This trade represents a 7.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.51% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Assurant Price Performance

NYSE AIZ opened at $188.25 on Wednesday. Assurant, Inc. has a 52 week low of $164.63 and a 52 week high of $230.55. The stock has a market cap of $9.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.67 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $196.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $200.90. 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 (NYSE:AIZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $3.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.78 by $0.61. Assurant had a net margin of 5.55% and a return on equity of 15.49%. The company had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.78 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 EPS for the current year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th were paid a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 9th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.70%. Assurant's payout ratio is 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.