Csenge Advisory Group Acquires New Holdings in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Csenge Advisory Group acquired a new stake in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 1,806 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $340,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Lyrical Asset Management LP boosted its position in Assurant by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Lyrical Asset Management LP now owns 783,257 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $131,971,000 after acquiring an additional 15,074 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Assurant by 23.4% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 737,099 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $124,194,000 after acquiring an additional 139,680 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Assurant during the 4th quarter worth approximately $108,253,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Assurant by 15.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 638,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $91,652,000 after acquiring an additional 85,953 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Assurant by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 443,409 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $74,710,000 after acquiring an additional 4,394 shares during the last quarter. 92.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Assurant Stock Performance

NYSE:AIZ opened at $166.54 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $170.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $172.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.66 billion, a PE ratio of 11.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Assurant, Inc. has a twelve month low of $124.22 and a twelve month high of $189.48.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $4.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.87 by $0.91. The business had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.82 billion. Assurant had a return on equity of 20.08% and a net margin of 6.73%. On average, analysts anticipate that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 10th were given a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 10th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.73%. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Assurant

In other Assurant news, COO Francesca Luthi sold 6,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.36, for a total value of $1,181,612.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 10,748 shares in the company, valued at $1,895,517.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Assurant news, EVP Michael P. Campbell sold 1,304 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.35, for a total value of $226,048.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,586 shares in the company, valued at $4,261,983.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Francesca Luthi sold 6,700 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.36, for a total value of $1,181,612.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 10,748 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,895,517.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 12,788 shares of company stock worth $2,248,489. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Assurant from $223.00 to $222.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $205.00 price objective on shares of Assurant in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Assurant from $182.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $204.60.

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.