Caprock Group LLC Purchases 376 Shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Caprock Group LLC grew its position in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 30.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,622 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 376 shares during the quarter. Caprock Group LLC’s holdings in Assurant were worth $323,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Assurant by 84.3% in the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 6,282 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,182,000 after buying an additional 2,874 shares in the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Assurant in the first quarter worth $321,000. Paloma Partners Management Co purchased a new position in shares of Assurant in the first quarter worth $295,000. Bayesian Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Assurant in the first quarter worth $1,058,000. Finally, Redwood Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Assurant in the first quarter worth $1,513,000. 92.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Assurant Price Performance

AIZ stock opened at $226.15 on Friday. Assurant, Inc. has a 52 week low of $160.12 and a 52 week high of $227.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $200.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $184.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.57.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.94 billion. Assurant had a net margin of 6.31% and a return on equity of 17.42%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.29 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Assurant, Inc. will post 15.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This is an increase from Assurant’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AIZ has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Assurant from $228.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Assurant from $200.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Assurant from $194.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, UBS Group increased 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $225.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.18, for a total value of $627,540.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now 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 filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.53% of the stock is currently 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.