Leuthold Group LLC Sells 720 Shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Leuthold Group LLC cut its holdings in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,919 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 720 shares during the period. Leuthold Group LLC’s holdings in Assurant were worth $3,762,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AIZ. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Assurant by 210.7% in the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,705 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,639,000 after buying an additional 5,903 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Assurant during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,213,000. SteelPeak Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Assurant by 770.1% in the second quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 13,051 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,170,000 after purchasing an additional 11,551 shares during the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd increased its stake in shares of Assurant by 608.5% in the first quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 5,640 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,062,000 after buying an additional 4,844 shares during the period. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in Assurant by 3,412.0% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 14,645 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,757,000 after buying an additional 14,228 shares during the last quarter. 92.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Assurant

In related news, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 550 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $593,962.88. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Assurant news, EVP Martin Jenns sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.13, for a total value of $267,195.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $717,329.51. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 550 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.44, for a total value of $103,642.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $593,962.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AIZ. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Assurant from $200.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group raised their target price on Assurant from $217.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Assurant from $186.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. StockNews.com cut Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Assurant from $228.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $214.60.

Assurant Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AIZ opened at $191.77 on Monday. Assurant, Inc. has a 1 year low of $145.48 and a 1 year high of $201.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.57. The company’s 50-day moving average is $194.20 and its 200 day moving average is $179.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.40.

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

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.10%.

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.