Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Buys 17,438 Shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 109.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,319 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,438 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Assurant were worth $5,539,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new stake in shares of Assurant in the fourth quarter worth about $611,000. UBS Group AG boosted its position in shares of Assurant by 48.5% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 58,172 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,801,000 after buying an additional 18,992 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Assurant during the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Assurant by 255.6% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 10,255 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,728,000 after buying an additional 7,371 shares during the period. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Assurant by 11.6% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 17,893 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,015,000 after buying an additional 1,853 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AIZ has been the subject of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Assurant from $186.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Piper Sandler cut Assurant from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. StockNews.com cut Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America reduced their price target on Assurant from $223.00 to $222.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Assurant from $217.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Assurant has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $209.00.

Assurant Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AIZ opened at $199.95 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $185.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $177.91. Assurant, Inc. has a 52 week low of $141.83 and a 52 week high of $201.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.39 billion, a PE ratio of 13.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.57.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.58 by $0.50. Assurant had a return on equity of 19.63% and a net margin of 6.90%. The company had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.89 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.89 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be given a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. Assurant’s payout ratio is 20.10%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Martin Jenns sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $717,329.51. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 550 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.44, for a total transaction of $103,642.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,152 shares in the company, valued at $593,962.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Martin Jenns sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,027 shares in the company, valued at approximately $717,329.51. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

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.