New Age Alpha Advisors LLC Increases Stake in Assurant, Inc. $AIZ

Key Points

• New Age Alpha Advisors LLC dramatically increased its stake in Assurant, boosting holdings by 35,088.9% in the fourth quarter to 9,501 shares worth about $2.29 million.
• Assurant reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $5.95 versus estimates of $5.29 and revenue of $3.42 billion, up 11.3% year over year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.88 per share, payable June 29, while analysts remain broadly positive with a consensus Moderate Buy rating and average price target of $275.83.

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) by 35,088.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,501 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 9,474 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC's holdings in Assurant were worth $2,288,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC purchased a new stake in Assurant during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Assurant during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Assurant by 65.6% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 149 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. BOKF NA purchased a new stake in Assurant during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Assurant during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 92.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Assurant Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AIZ opened at $256.14 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $230.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $230.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market cap of $12.69 billion, a PE ratio of 13.10 and a beta of 0.56. Assurant, Inc. has a 1 year low of $183.39 and a 1 year high of $260.96.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $5.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.29 by $0.66. Assurant had a net margin of 7.60% and a return on equity of 20.32%. The firm had revenue of $3.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.79 earnings per share. Assurant's revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Assurant, Inc. will post 21.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 29th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th will be given a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Assurant's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.01%.

Insider Activity at Assurant

In related news, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.98, for a total transaction of $158,235.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 4,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,000,256.18. This represents a 13.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jay Rosenblum sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.77, for a total transaction of $503,540.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 12,764 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,213,592.28. This represents a 13.55% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 29,650 shares of company stock worth $7,419,621 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AIZ has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Assurant from $255.00 to $246.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Assurant from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Assurant from $268.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Assurant from $258.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Assurant from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $275.83.

Assurant Company Profile

Assurant, Inc is a global provider of risk management products and services, specializing in the housing and lifestyle markets. The company offers insurance and related products designed to help consumers protect their homes, personal belongings, and electronic devices. Its core offerings include renters insurance, manufactured housing finance, flood insurance, mobile device protection plans, and extended service contracts for appliances and electronics.

Within its Global Housing segment, Assurant partners with mortgage lenders, financial institutions and government agencies to deliver specialty insurance and risk mitigation services.

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