Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) Shares Acquired by State of Alaska Department of Revenue

State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its holdings in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) by 122.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,009 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 7,160 shares during the quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue's holdings in Assurant were worth $2,728,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AIZ. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Assurant by 36.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,320,590 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $708,016,000 after purchasing an additional 891,292 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Assurant by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,399,725 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $299,724,000 after buying an additional 10,956 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Assurant by 23.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 831,864 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $177,370,000 after buying an additional 156,364 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Assurant during the fourth quarter valued at $143,475,000. Finally, Clark Capital Management Group Inc. increased its holdings in Assurant by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 607,458 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $129,522,000 after buying an additional 7,211 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.65% of the company's stock.

Assurant Price Performance

AIZ stock traded down $3.37 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $194.65. The company's stock had a trading volume of 324,799 shares, compared to its average volume of 428,568. 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 company's 50 day moving average is $196.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $203.82. Assurant, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $160.12 and a fifty-two week high of $230.55. The stock has a market cap of $9.90 billion, a PE ratio of 15.17 and a beta of 0.61.

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

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be given a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.64%. Assurant's dividend payout ratio is currently 24.94%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Assurant from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Assurant from $224.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Morgan Stanley set a $217.00 price target on shares of Assurant and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Finally, 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $228.67.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Jay Rosenblum sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.93, for a total transaction of $201,930.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at $2,377,725.75. This trade represents a 7.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.51% of the company's stock.

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.