Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) Shares Acquired by Natixis Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in Assurant, Inc. by 7.9% during the first quarter, owning 21,138 shares worth approximately $4.4 million at the end of that period.
• Assurant reported earnings per share of $5.56 for the last quarter, exceeding the consensus estimate of $4.43, alongside a revenue increase of 8% year-over-year.
• A number of hedge funds have significantly increased their positions in Assurant, with 92.65% of the stock now held by these institutional investors.

Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) by 7.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,138 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,555 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC's holdings in Assurant were worth $4,434,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AIZ. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new position in Assurant during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings 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. lifted its holdings 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. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Assurant by 47.3% in the 1st quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 190 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Assurant in the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. 92.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AIZ has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Assurant from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Assurant from $224.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Assurant from $217.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $228.83.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Jay Rosenblum sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.93, for a total value of $201,930.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 11,775 shares in the company, valued at $2,377,725.75. This represents a 7.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.51% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Assurant Price Performance

NYSE AIZ traded up $1.57 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $203.38. The company's stock had a trading volume of 402,948 shares, compared to its average volume of 417,944. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.73 and a beta of 0.58. Assurant, Inc. has a 1-year low of $170.39 and a 1-year high of $230.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The company's 50-day moving average is $193.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $199.23.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $5.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.43 by $1.13. Assurant had a return on equity of 16.47% and a net margin of 5.83%. The company had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.13 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.77 EPS. Assurant's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 EPS for the current year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th were given a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 9th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Assurant's dividend payout ratio is 23.17%.

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.