Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) Position Increased by Park Avenue Securities LLC

Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) by 32.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,589 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,097 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC's holdings in Assurant were worth $1,802,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Assurant by 127.1% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 134 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Assurant during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Assurant during the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.65% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AIZ. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Assurant from $224.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Piper Sandler raised shares of Assurant from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $223.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley set a $217.00 price objective on shares of Assurant and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Assurant from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Assurant from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $228.67.

Assurant Price Performance

AIZ traded up $0.33 on Thursday, reaching $196.87. The company had a trading volume of 61,007 shares, compared to its average volume of 422,925. The company has a market capitalization of $10.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.61 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company has a fifty day moving average of $195.16 and a 200-day moving average of $205.75. Assurant, Inc. has a one year low of $160.12 and a one year high of $230.55.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $3.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.78 by $0.61. Assurant had a net margin of 6.40% and a return on equity of 17.25%. The business had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.06 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.78 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. Assurant's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.94%.

Insider Transactions at Assurant

In other Assurant news, EVP Jay Rosenblum sold 1,000 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.93, for a total value of $201,930.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,377,725.75. The trade was a 7.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.51% of the company's stock.

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.