Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Trims Holdings in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund cut its holdings in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 8.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm 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 hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in Assurant by 62.6% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 24,284 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,571,000 after purchasing an additional 9,346 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in Assurant by 35.7% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 346 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Assurant by 84.3% in the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 6,282 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,182,000 after acquiring an additional 2,874 shares in the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd increased its holdings in Assurant by 608.5% in the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 5,640 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,062,000 after acquiring an additional 4,844 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Assurant by 3,412.0% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 14,645 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,757,000 after purchasing an additional 14,228 shares during the last quarter. 92.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Assurant Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AIZ opened at $219.13 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $197.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $183.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.42. Assurant, Inc. has a 1-year low of $160.12 and a 1-year high of $221.94. The company has a market cap of $11.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.57.

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

Assurant Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. This is a boost from Assurant’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.54%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,658 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,321,240.44. This trade represents a 12.68 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.