GW&K Investment Management LLC Decreases Stock Position in Assurant, Inc. $AIZ

GW&K Investment Management LLC lessened its position in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 5.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 259,456 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 15,406 shares during the quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC owned about 0.52% of Assurant worth $62,491,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Portfolio Design Labs LLC lifted its position in Assurant by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC now owns 6,249 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,505,000 after buying an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in Assurant during the fourth quarter worth approximately $221,000. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in Assurant by 66.7% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 33,945 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,176,000 after buying an additional 13,576 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in Assurant by 17.1% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 42,356 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,201,000 after buying an additional 6,172 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Assurant by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,172 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,968,000 after buying an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Assurant Price Performance

AIZ stock opened at $250.91 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $237.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $232.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock has a market cap of $12.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.83 and a beta of 0.56. Assurant, Inc. has a 52-week low of $183.39 and a 52-week high of $260.96.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $5.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.29 by $0.66. The company had revenue of $3.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.29 billion. Assurant had a return on equity of 20.32% and a net margin of 7.60%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.79 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Assurant, Inc. will post 21.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AIZ has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Assurant from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Assurant from $270.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Assurant from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $240.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Assurant from $258.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Assurant from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Assurant presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $275.83.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Assurant news, EVP Jay Rosenblum sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.77, for a total transaction of $503,540.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 12,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,213,592.28. This trade represents a 13.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Keith Meier sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.31, for a total value of $6,357,750.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 18,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,717,959.12. This trade represents a 57.40% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 31,650 shares of company stock worth $7,930,981 in the last three months. 0.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Assurant Company Profile

Assurant, Inc is a global provider of risk management products and services, specializing in the housing and lifestyle markets. The company offers insurance and related products designed to help consumers protect their homes, personal belongings, and electronic devices. Its core offerings include renters insurance, manufactured housing finance, flood insurance, mobile device protection plans, and extended service contracts for appliances and electronics.

Within its Global Housing segment, Assurant partners with mortgage lenders, financial institutions and government agencies to deliver specialty insurance and risk mitigation services.