CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp Boosts Holdings in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp lifted its position in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 31,247 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the period. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp’s holdings in Assurant were worth $6,663,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in shares of Assurant during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Huntington National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Assurant by 509.4% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted 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 worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Assurant in the 3rd quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Assurant in the 3rd quarter valued at about $56,000. 92.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Assurant Stock Performance

NYSE AIZ opened at $208.96 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.90 and a beta of 0.62. The business’s 50 day moving average is $215.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $196.18. Assurant, Inc. has a 12-month low of $160.12 and a 12-month high of $230.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.48. The firm had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.94 billion. Assurant had a net margin of 6.31% and a return on equity of 17.42%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.29 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Assurant, Inc. will post 15.38 EPS for the current year.

Assurant Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.53%. This is a positive change from Assurant’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.82%.

Insider Activity at Assurant

In other news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.18, for a total transaction of $627,540.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 20,658 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,321,240.44. This represents a 12.68 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Assurant from $217.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Assurant from $228.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. StockNews.com lowered Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Assurant in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $251.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Assurant from $200.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Assurant currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $229.50.

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.