Millennium Management LLC Cuts Stake in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Millennium Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 2.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 172,579 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,669 shares during the quarter. Millennium Management LLC owned about 0.33% of Assurant worth $28,691,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Assurant during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Assurant by 62.1% during the 2nd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 201 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Assurant during the 4th quarter valued at about $51,000. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new stake in Assurant during the second quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of Assurant by 35.7% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 346 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 550 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.44, for a total value of $103,642.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,152 shares in the company, valued at approximately $593,962.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Martin Jenns sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.13, for a total transaction of $267,195.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,027 shares in the company, valued at approximately $717,329.51. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 550 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.44, for a total transaction of $103,642.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $593,962.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Assurant Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE AIZ opened at $196.47 on Friday. Assurant, Inc. has a twelve month low of $142.01 and a twelve month high of $201.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $188.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $178.55. The firm has a market cap of $10.21 billion, a PE ratio of 13.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.57.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.58 by $0.50. Assurant had a net margin of 6.90% and a return on equity of 19.63%. The company had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.89 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.89 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. Assurant’s payout ratio is 20.10%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on AIZ. StockNews.com cut shares of Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Assurant from $200.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Assurant from $223.00 to $222.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Assurant from $186.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Assurant from $217.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Assurant has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $212.40.

Assurant Company 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.