National Wealth Management Group LLC Makes New Investment in Assurant, Inc. $AIZ

Key Points

• National Wealth Management Group LLC has acquired a new position in Assurant, Inc., purchasing 2,221 shares valued at approximately $466,000.
• Analysts have mostly upgraded Assurant's stock ratings, with one strong buy, eight buy, and one sell, leading to a consensus target price of $233.29.
• Assurant recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.80, translating to an annualized yield of 1.5%, with a payout ratio of 23.17%.

National Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,221 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $466,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AIZ. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Assurant by 37.1% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 56,841 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $12,120,000 after purchasing an additional 15,377 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in Assurant by 57.7% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 137,712 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,363,000 after purchasing an additional 50,407 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Assurant in the 4th quarter worth about $13,070,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Assurant by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,984 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,489,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors grew its position in Assurant by 15.2% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 6,932 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,478,000 after purchasing an additional 917 shares in the last quarter. 92.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Assurant news, EVP Jay Rosenblum sold 3,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.53, for a total value of $813,267.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 7,875 shares in the company, valued at $1,642,173.75. This represents a 33.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Keith Demmings sold 4,275 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.27, for a total transaction of $941,654.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 98,372 shares in the company, valued at $21,668,400.44. This represents a 4.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,400 shares of company stock worth $2,891,288 in the last three months. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Assurant Stock Performance

Shares of AIZ stock traded down $1.94 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $209.17. 56,285 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 481,748. The company has a market capitalization of $10.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.15 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The firm's 50-day moving average is $200.30 and its 200 day moving average is $199.71. Assurant, Inc. has a 1 year low of $174.97 and a 1 year high of $230.55.

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

Assurant Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Assurant Company 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.