Thornburg Investment Management Inc. Has $12.51 Million Stock Holdings in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Key Points

• Thornburg Investment Management Inc. has reduced its stock position in Assurant, Inc. by 7.2%, bringing its total shares to 59,634 and valuing the stake at approximately $12.5 million.
• Other institutional investors have also been active, with Principal Financial Group increasing its position by 12% and Private Trust Co. NA boosting by 192.2% in the same period.
• Assurant's quarterly earnings were reported at $3.39 EPS, exceeding expectations, while analysts forecast an average price target of $228.83 with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

Thornburg Investment Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) by 7.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 59,634 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 4,597 shares during the period. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. owned 0.12% of Assurant worth $12,508,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in Assurant by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 333,146 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $69,877,000 after purchasing an additional 2,527 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Assurant by 13.1% in the 1st quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 1,375 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $288,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Assurant by 405.9% in the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 8,980 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,884,000 after buying an additional 7,205 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC raised its stake in Assurant by 35.8% during the 1st quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 31,669 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,643,000 after buying an additional 8,351 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in Assurant by 1.1% in the first quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 41,002 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,600,000 after acquiring an additional 455 shares during the period. 92.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Assurant

In related news, EVP Jay Rosenblum sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 11,775 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.51% of the company's stock.

Assurant Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of AIZ traded down $0.89 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $186.41. 421,666 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 489,297. The company has a market cap of $9.48 billion, a PE ratio of 14.53 and a beta of 0.59. Assurant, Inc. has a 52 week low of $164.63 and a 52 week high of $230.55. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $194.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $199.78. 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 released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $3.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.78 by $0.61. Assurant had a net margin of 5.55% and a return on equity of 15.49%. 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 business earned $4.78 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th were paid a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 9th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Assurant's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.94%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on AIZ shares. 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. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Assurant from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 5th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Assurant from $217.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised shares of Assurant from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $223.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Assurant presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $228.83.

Assurant Company 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.