Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Reduces Position in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund cut its position in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 8.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,714 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 160 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Assurant were worth $323,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AIZ. Lyrical Asset Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Assurant by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Lyrical Asset Management LP now owns 783,257 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $131,971,000 after buying an additional 15,074 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Assurant by 23.4% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 737,099 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $124,194,000 after buying an additional 139,680 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Assurant in the 4th quarter valued at $108,253,000. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in Assurant by 7.8% during the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 470,102 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $88,492,000 after purchasing an additional 34,070 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Assurant by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 443,409 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $74,710,000 after purchasing an additional 4,394 shares during the period. 92.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AIZ has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Assurant from $182.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $205.00 price target on shares of Assurant in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Assurant from $223.00 to $222.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $204.60.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Robert Lonergan sold 2,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.12, for a total value of $475,524.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 19,786 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,484,710.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Michael P. Campbell sold 1,304 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.35, for a total transaction of $226,048.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,586 shares in the company, valued at $4,261,983.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Robert Lonergan sold 2,700 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.12, for a total transaction of $475,524.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 19,786 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,484,710.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,788 shares of company stock worth $2,248,489 in the last 90 days. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Assurant Stock Performance

Shares of AIZ stock traded up $0.75 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $173.80. The stock had a trading volume of 58,838 shares, compared to its average volume of 349,111. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $168.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $173.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market cap of $9.04 billion, a PE ratio of 12.08, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.54. Assurant, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $133.13 and a fifty-two week high of $189.48.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $4.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.87 by $0.91. The business had revenue of $2.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.82 billion. Assurant had a net margin of 6.73% and a return on equity of 20.08%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 10th were issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 10th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.66%. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.10%.

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.