Stevens Capital Management LP Acquires New Shares in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Key Points

• Stevens Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Assurant, Inc. with 2,887 shares valued at approximately $606,000 during the first quarter.
• Various institutional investors are increasing their holdings in Assurant, with TD Private Client Wealth LLC increasing its position by 503.1% in the fourth quarter.
• Assurant reported earnings of $3.39 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $2.78, with revenue of $3.07 billion.

Stevens Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 2,887 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $606,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AIZ. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Assurant in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,810,000. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in Assurant by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 1,390 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $296,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in Assurant in the 4th quarter worth approximately $206,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its position in Assurant by 503.1% in the 4th quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Assurant by 173.5% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 84,655 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $18,050,000 after buying an additional 53,697 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.65% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Assurant

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AIZ has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Assurant from $217.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen cut Assurant from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 5th. Piper Sandler raised Assurant from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $223.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Assurant from $224.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $228.83.

Assurant Stock Up 0.5%

AIZ stock traded up $0.87 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $185.72. The stock had a trading volume of 99,369 shares, compared to its average volume of 488,670. The firm has a market cap of $9.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.48 and a beta of 0.59. The business has a 50-day moving average of $194.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $200.07. Assurant, Inc. has a 52-week low of $164.63 and a 52-week high of $230.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.41 and a quick ratio of 0.41.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.06 billion. Assurant had a return on equity of 15.49% and a net margin of 5.55%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.78 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.72%. Assurant's dividend payout ratio is currently 24.94%.

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.