Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Cuts Stock Holdings in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Key Points

• Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd reduced its stake in Assurant, Inc. by 50.7% during the first quarter, leaving it with 2,603 shares worth approximately $546,000.
• Several institutional investors have increased their positions in Assurant, with Bank of New York Mellon Corp and Northern Trust Corp raising their stakes significantly in recent quarters.
• Assurant announced a quarterly dividend of $0.80 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 1.73% and a payout ratio of 24.94%.

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd reduced its stake in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) by 50.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,603 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 2,672 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd's holdings in Assurant were worth $546,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AIZ. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Assurant in the first quarter worth $28,000. Private Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in shares of Assurant by 192.2% in the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 149 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Assurant by 47.3% in the first quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 190 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Assurant during the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new position in Assurant during the 1st quarter valued at about $46,000. 92.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted 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 cut Assurant from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 5th. Piper Sandler upgraded 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Assurant from $217.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Assurant presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $228.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at Assurant

In related news, EVP Jay Rosenblum sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were 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 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Assurant Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of AIZ traded down $0.33 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $184.85. 105,426 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 487,730. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $9.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.41 and a beta of 0.59. Assurant, Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.63 and a 1 year high of $230.55. The firm's fifty day moving average is $194.46 and its 200-day moving average is $199.97.

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. Assurant had a net margin of 5.55% and a return on equity of 15.49%. The firm had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.78 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 of this dividend was Monday, June 9th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.73%. Assurant's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.94%.

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.