Assurant, Inc. $AIZ Shares Sold by Lyrical Asset Management LP

Lyrical Asset Management LP lowered its stake in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 4.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 666,694 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 31,707 shares during the period. Assurant accounts for approximately 2.2% of Lyrical Asset Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Lyrical Asset Management LP owned 1.33% of Assurant worth $160,573,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Assurant by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,040,347 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,213,968,000 after acquiring an additional 29,974 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Assurant by 15.1% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 862,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $186,808,000 after acquiring an additional 113,235 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Assurant during the fourth quarter valued at $161,574,000. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Assurant by 10.1% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 612,919 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $132,758,000 after acquiring an additional 56,470 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Assurant by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 349,361 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $84,144,000 after acquiring an additional 5,462 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AIZ has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised Assurant from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Assurant from $270.00 to $274.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Assurant from $268.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Assurant from $258.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $275.83.

Assurant Stock Performance

Assurant stock opened at $257.47 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $236.08 and its 200-day moving average is $231.92. The company has a market cap of $12.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.17 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.39. Assurant, Inc. has a 12 month low of $183.39 and a 12 month high of $260.96.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $5.95 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.29 by $0.66. The company had revenue of $3.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.29 billion. Assurant had a return on equity of 20.32% and a net margin of 7.60%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.79 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Assurant, Inc. will post 21.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be issued a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.01%.

Insider Transactions at Assurant

In other news, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total value of $511,360.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,741 shares in the company, valued at $700,818.88. This trade represents a 42.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Subhashish Sengupta sold 1,880 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.53, for a total value of $395,796.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 2,895 shares in the company, valued at approximately $609,484.35. This trade represents a 39.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 31,650 shares of company stock valued at $7,930,981. 0.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Assurant

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.