Lecap Asset Management Ltd. Makes New Investment in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Lecap Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 7,077 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,192,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AIZ. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Assurant by 11.5% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 6,180 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,124,000 after buying an additional 639 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Assurant during the first quarter valued at approximately $211,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its position in Assurant by 23.1% during the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 15,499 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,818,000 after purchasing an additional 2,912 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Assurant by 17.5% during the first quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,005 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,092,000 after purchasing an additional 896 shares during the period. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its position in Assurant by 6.6% during the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 7,624 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,386,000 after purchasing an additional 472 shares during the period. 92.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Assurant Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:AIZ traded up $0.57 on Friday, reaching $174.19. The company had a trading volume of 252,450 shares, compared to its average volume of 333,981. Assurant, Inc. has a 52-week low of $115.41 and a 52-week high of $189.48. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $178.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $167.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.05 billion, a PE ratio of 14.54, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $4.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.88. Assurant had a return on equity of 18.36% and a net margin of 5.77%. The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.78 billion. As a group, analysts expect that Assurant, Inc. will post 15.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 5th were paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 2nd. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.65%. Assurant's payout ratio is presently 24.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AIZ shares. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Assurant from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. UBS Group increased their price target on Assurant from $191.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded Assurant from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $170.00 to $182.00 in a report on Monday, February 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Assurant has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $192.20.

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.