Vest Financial LLC Purchases Shares of 16,428 Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Vest Financial LLC acquired a new position in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 16,428 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,446,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Assurant by 36.7% in the fourth 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 buying an additional 891,292 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Assurant by 0.8% in 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 raised its stake in Assurant by 23.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 831,864 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $177,370,000 after buying an additional 156,364 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Assurant in the fourth quarter worth approximately $143,475,000. Finally, Clark Capital Management Group Inc. raised its stake 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 worth $129,522,000 after buying an additional 7,211 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.65% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Assurant news, EVP Jay Rosenblum sold 1,000 shares of the company'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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.51% of the company's stock.

Assurant Stock Performance

Shares of AIZ traded up $2.36 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $203.77. 390,326 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 424,137. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.08 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Assurant, Inc. has a 12-month low of $160.12 and a 12-month high of $230.55. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $195.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $206.21.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $3.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.78 by $0.61. The firm had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.06 billion. Assurant had a net margin of 6.40% and a return on equity of 17.25%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.78 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. Assurant's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.94%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AIZ has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of 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 stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Assurant from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Piper Sandler raised shares of Assurant from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $223.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Assurant from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $228.67.

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.