SG Americas Securities LLC Boosts Stake in Assurant, Inc. $AIZ

SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 929.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 62,232 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 56,189 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Assurant were worth $14,989,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Assurant by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,976 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,172,000 after purchasing an additional 479 shares in the last quarter. Innova Wealth Partners purchased a new position in shares of Assurant in the 4th quarter worth about $226,000. Hilltop National Bank purchased a new position in shares of Assurant in the 4th quarter worth about $232,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Assurant by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 7,937 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,912,000 after purchasing an additional 527 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Assurant by 47.3% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,254 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $543,000 after purchasing an additional 724 shares during the last quarter. 92.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on AIZ shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Assurant in a research report on Monday, December 29th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Assurant from $255.00 to $246.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Assurant from $252.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Assurant from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Assurant has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $258.17.

Assurant Stock Down 2.0%

AIZ opened at $212.97 on Friday. Assurant, Inc. has a 12 month low of $174.97 and a 12 month high of $246.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $226.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $224.54. The company has a market cap of $10.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.55 and a beta of 0.58.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The financial services provider reported $5.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.55 by $0.06. Assurant had a return on equity of 18.65% and a net margin of 6.81%.The company had revenue of $3.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.79 EPS. Assurant’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 EPS for the current year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio is 20.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.98, for a total value of $158,235.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 4,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,000,256.18. This trade represents a 13.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Subhashish Sengupta sold 1,880 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction on Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.53, for a total transaction of $395,796.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 2,895 shares in the company, valued at approximately $609,484.35. The trade was a 39.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 2,650 shares of company stock valued at $558,331. Insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Assurant 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.