Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP Reduces Holdings in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP lowered its position in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 27.4% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 35,401 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 13,393 shares during the period. Assurant accounts for about 1.6% of Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP’s holdings in Assurant were worth $7,040,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AIZ. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Assurant by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,163,593 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $231,392,000 after buying an additional 65,874 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in shares of Assurant by 9.3% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 47,011 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,400,000 after acquiring an additional 4,016 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd grew its position in shares of Assurant by 75.0% in the third quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 749 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $149,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. Davis R M Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Assurant during the 3rd quarter valued at $219,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Assurant by 57.6% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 8,105 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,612,000 after purchasing an additional 2,963 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Assurant Stock Up 0.6 %

AIZ opened at $227.46 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $200.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $184.77. Assurant, Inc. has a 52 week low of $160.12 and a 52 week high of $230.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock has a market cap of $11.67 billion, a PE ratio of 16.22 and a beta of 0.57.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.48. Assurant had a net margin of 6.31% and a return on equity of 17.42%. The firm had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.94 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.29 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Assurant, Inc. will post 15.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. This is a positive change from Assurant’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.82%.

Insider Activity

In other Assurant news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.18, for a total value of $627,540.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 20,658 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,321,240.44. The trade was a 12.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on AIZ shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Assurant from $194.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Assurant from $228.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Assurant from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Assurant from $217.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Assurant from $200.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Assurant has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $225.20.

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.