Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) Shares Sold by Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lowered its stake in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 8.6% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,533 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 144 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Assurant were worth $305,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of AIZ. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Assurant during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank increased its position in shares of Assurant by 509.4% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Assurant during the 2nd quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Assurant in the 3rd quarter worth $56,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AIZ has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Assurant from $200.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Assurant from $194.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Assurant from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. UBS Group upped their price objective 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. Finally, StockNews.com cut Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $225.20.

Assurant Price Performance

Shares of AIZ stock opened at $219.13 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Assurant, Inc. has a 12 month low of $160.12 and a 12 month high of $221.94. The firm has a market cap of $11.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.63, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.57. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $197.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $183.16.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.48. Assurant had a return on equity of 17.42% and a net margin of 6.31%. The business had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.29 EPS. Assurant’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Assurant, Inc. will post 15.05 EPS for the current year.

Assurant Increases Dividend

The business 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 is a positive change from Assurant’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. Assurant’s payout ratio is 20.54%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 transaction of $627,540.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,658 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,321,240.44. The trade was a 12.68 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

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.