Lyrical Asset Management LP Reduces Stock Holdings in Assurant, Inc. $AIZ

Lyrical Asset Management LP reduced its stake in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 4.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 666,694 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 31,707 shares during the quarter. Assurant accounts for approximately 2.2% of Lyrical Asset Management LP’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Lyrical Asset Management LP’s holdings in Assurant were worth $160,573,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AIZ. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Assurant during the 4th quarter valued at about $161,574,000. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new stake in shares of Assurant during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,195,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its holdings in shares of Assurant by 205.5% during the 2nd quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 216,440 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $42,745,000 after buying an additional 145,600 shares during the period. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Assurant by 2,977.4% during the 2nd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 129,219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,519,000 after buying an additional 125,020 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Assurant by 15.1% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 862,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $186,808,000 after buying an additional 113,235 shares during the period. 92.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on AIZ. UBS Group raised their target price on Assurant from $270.00 to $274.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Assurant from $268.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Assurant from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. 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 report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Assurant from $255.00 to $246.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Assurant has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $275.83.

Assurant Price Performance

AIZ stock opened at $257.47 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Assurant, Inc. has a 52-week low of $183.39 and a 52-week high of $260.96. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $236.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $231.92. The company has a market capitalization of $12.76 billion, a PE ratio of 13.17 and a beta of 0.56.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Assurant had a return on equity of 20.32% and a net margin of 7.60%.The company had revenue of $3.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.79 EPS. Assurant’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Assurant, Inc. will post 21.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Assurant

In other news, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 2,000 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total value of $511,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 2,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $700,818.88. This trade represents a 42.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Subhashish Sengupta sold 1,880 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.53, for a total value of $395,796.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 2,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $609,484.35. The trade was a 39.37% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 31,650 shares of company stock worth $7,930,981 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

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.