Park Avenue Securities LLC Sells 1,475 Shares of Assurant, Inc. $AIZ

Key Points

• Park Avenue Securities LLC reduced its stake in Assurant, Inc. by 17.2%, selling 1,475 shares and now holding a total of 7,114 shares valued at approximately $1.4 million.
• Several institutional investors have significantly increased their positions in Assurant during the first quarter, with 92.65% of the company's stock now owned by such investors.
• Assurant announced a quarterly dividend of $0.80 per share, representing an annualized yield of 1.5%, with the dividend payout ratio at 23.17%.

Park Avenue Securities LLC cut its position in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) by 17.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,114 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,475 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC's holdings in Assurant were worth $1,405,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Assurant by 12.7% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,740,659 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $784,603,000 after purchasing an additional 420,069 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Assurant by 28.0% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,479,310 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $310,285,000 after purchasing an additional 323,573 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Assurant by 20,818.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 308,123 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $646,290,000 after purchasing an additional 306,650 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Assurant in the 1st quarter worth about $28,095,000. Finally, Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Assurant by 73.3% in the 1st quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 279,268 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $58,577,000 after acquiring an additional 118,096 shares during the last quarter. 92.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AIZ has been the topic of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Assurant in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $238.00 price objective on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Assurant from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Wall Street Zen raised Assurant from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Assurant from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Stephens assumed coverage on Assurant in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. They set an "overweight" rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Assurant currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $234.83.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Keith Demmings sold 4,275 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.27, for a total value of $941,654.25. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 98,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,668,400.44. This trade represents a 4.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Jay Rosenblum sold 3,900 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.53, for a total value of $813,267.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 7,875 shares in the company, valued at $1,642,173.75. The trade was a 33.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 13,400 shares of company stock valued at $2,891,288 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.51% of the company's stock.

Assurant Price Performance

AIZ opened at $215.78 on Friday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $205.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $200.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.40. Assurant, Inc. has a 1 year low of $174.97 and a 1 year high of $230.55. The firm has a market cap of $10.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.63 and a beta of 0.55.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $5.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $1.13. Assurant had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 16.47%. The firm had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $4.77 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Assurant has set its FY 2025 guidance at 22.390-22.390 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. Assurant's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.17%.

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.

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