Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) Stock Holdings Decreased by McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC

McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 14.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,246 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 375 shares during the quarter. McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Assurant were worth $471,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in Assurant by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,079 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $436,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas lifted its position in shares of Assurant by 138.5% in the first quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 2,056 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $431,000 after purchasing an additional 1,194 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional purchased a new stake in shares of Assurant in the first quarter worth approximately $131,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its holdings in shares of Assurant by 13.1% during the first quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 14,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,083,000 after purchasing an additional 1,700 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in Assurant by 672.7% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 11,374 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,386,000 after buying an additional 9,902 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AIZ has been the subject of a number of research reports. 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Assurant from $224.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Wall Street Zen raised Assurant from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Assurant from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $217.00 price target on Assurant and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $228.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Jay Rosenblum sold 1,000 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,377,725.75. This trade represents a 7.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Assurant Stock Up 0.4%

Assurant stock opened at $196.62 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Assurant, Inc. has a 1-year low of $160.12 and a 1-year high of $230.55. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $195.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $205.75. The company has a market capitalization of $10.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.59 and a beta of 0.61.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $3.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.78 by $0.61. Assurant had a net margin of 6.40% and a return on equity of 17.25%. The firm had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.78 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.63%. Assurant’s payout ratio is currently 24.94%.

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.