Pittenger & Anderson Inc. Has $5.39 Million Position in Assurant, Inc. $AIZ

Pittenger & Anderson Inc. grew its stake in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 2.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 27,305 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 525 shares during the period. Pittenger & Anderson Inc.’s holdings in Assurant were worth $5,392,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Assurant by 3.9% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,527 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $302,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co. grew its stake in Assurant by 1.3% during the second quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co. now owns 4,556 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $900,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. grew its stake in Assurant by 47.3% during the first quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 190 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Assurant by 57.8% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 183 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Assurant by 1.6% during the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,745 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $995,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Assurant Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE AIZ opened at $209.14 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $213.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $201.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.14 and a beta of 0.55. Assurant, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $174.97 and a fifty-two week high of $230.55.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.80 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $2.42 billion for the quarter. Assurant had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 16.47%. Assurant has set its FY 2022 guidance at $13.062-$13.512 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 EPS for the current year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were issued a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Assurant news, EVP Jay Rosenblum sold 3,900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.53, for a total value of $813,267.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 7,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,642,173.75. This trade represents a 33.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 950 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.96, for a total transaction of $194,712.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 3,135 shares in the company, valued at approximately $642,549.60. This trade represents a 23.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 27,125 shares of company stock worth $5,917,925. Company insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Assurant in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. They set an “overweight” rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Assurant in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $238.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Assurant from $230.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Assurant in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Assurant from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $243.00.

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.