Thornburg Investment Management Inc. Lowers Holdings in Assurant, Inc. $AIZ

Key Points

• Thornburg Investment Management reduced its Assurant stake by 13.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 7,036 shares and leaving it with 46,109 shares worth about $11.1 million.
• Assurant reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $5.95 versus the $5.29 estimate and revenue of $3.42 billion, up 11.3% year over year.
• Analysts remain upbeat on the stock, with several firms raising price targets and MarketBeat showing a consensus Buy rating with an average target price of $275.83.

Thornburg Investment Management Inc. cut its position in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) by 13.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 46,109 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 7,036 shares during the quarter. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.09% of Assurant worth $11,105,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Tobias Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Assurant by 141.3% in the 4th quarter. Tobias Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 2,958 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $712,000 after purchasing an additional 1,732 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its stake in Assurant by 22.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 15,225 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,667,000 after purchasing an additional 2,816 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its stake in Assurant by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 9,483 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,284,000 after purchasing an additional 1,235 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC lifted its stake in Assurant by 77.5% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 9,710 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,339,000 after purchasing an additional 4,241 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fieldview Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Assurant in the 4th quarter worth approximately $398,000. 92.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Assurant news, EVP Keith Meier sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.31, for a total value of $6,357,750.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 18,552 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,717,959.12. This trade represents a 57.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total transaction of $511,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,741 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $700,818.88. This represents a 42.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 31,650 shares of company stock worth $7,930,981 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

Assurant Price Performance

Shares of Assurant stock opened at $260.67 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $12.92 billion, a PE ratio of 13.33 and a beta of 0.56. Assurant, Inc. has a 12-month low of $183.39 and a 12-month high of $261.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $240.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $232.98.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $5.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.29 by $0.66. The business had revenue of $3.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.29 billion. Assurant had a net margin of 7.60% and a return on equity of 20.32%. The company's revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.79 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Assurant, Inc. will post 21.04 EPS for the current year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be issued a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. Assurant's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AIZ. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Assurant from $270.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Assurant from $268.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Assurant from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Assurant from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Assurant from $258.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $275.83.

Assurant Company Profile

Assurant, Inc is a global provider of risk management products and services, specializing in the housing and lifestyle markets. The company offers insurance and related products designed to help consumers protect their homes, personal belongings, and electronic devices. Its core offerings include renters insurance, manufactured housing finance, flood insurance, mobile device protection plans, and extended service contracts for appliances and electronics.

Within its Global Housing segment, Assurant partners with mortgage lenders, financial institutions and government agencies to deliver specialty insurance and risk mitigation services.

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