Oak Thistle LLC Boosts Stock Position in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Oak Thistle LLC raised its position in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) by 192.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,521 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 8,898 shares during the period. Oak Thistle LLC's holdings in Assurant were worth $2,836,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Efficient Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Assurant during the 1st quarter valued at $421,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH raised its position in shares of Assurant by 9.7% in the 1st quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 69,474 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $14,572,000 after acquiring an additional 6,150 shares in the last quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC raised its position in shares of Assurant by 19.3% in the 1st quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,225 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $238,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Assurant by 50.5% in the 1st quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 216,656 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $45,443,000 after acquiring an additional 72,673 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Impact Partnership Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Assurant by 13.1% in the 1st quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 1,279 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $268,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. 92.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Assurant Stock Up 0.7%

AIZ stock traded up $1.38 on Friday, hitting $186.09. 271,674 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 361,134. Assurant, Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.63 and a 12-month high of $230.55. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $195.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $200.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market cap of $9.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.50 and a beta of 0.59.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $3.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.78 by $0.61. Assurant had a return on equity of 15.49% and a net margin of 5.55%. The firm had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.78 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th were paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 9th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.72%. Assurant's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.94%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Assurant news, EVP Jay Rosenblum sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.93, for a total transaction of $201,930.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 11,775 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,377,725.75. The trade was a 7.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.