New York State Teachers Retirement System Sells 2,488 Shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

New York State Teachers Retirement System trimmed its holdings in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) by 4.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 49,515 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 2,488 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.10% of Assurant worth $10,386,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Assurant by 127.1% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 134 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Assurant during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in shares of Assurant by 219.1% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 150 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Assurant by 503.1% during the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the period. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Assurant during the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,000. 92.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Assurant

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

Assurant Stock Performance

AIZ traded up $1.69 during trading on Friday, reaching $193.47. 264,316 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 430,209. Assurant, Inc. has a 52 week low of $160.12 and a 52 week high of $230.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $197.71 and a 200 day moving average of $202.85. The stock has a market cap of $9.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.08 and a beta of 0.59.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.78 by $0.61. The business had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.06 billion. Assurant had a net margin of 5.55% and a return on equity of 15.49%. The company's revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.78 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 was Monday, June 9th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.65%. Assurant's dividend payout ratio is currently 24.94%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on AIZ. Wall Street Zen upgraded Assurant from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Piper Sandler upgraded 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. Morgan Stanley set a $217.00 target price on shares of Assurant and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Assurant from $224.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $228.67.

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.