Empirical Asset Management LLC Buys Shares of 4,439 Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Empirical Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 4,439 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $883,000.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Assurant during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Assurant by 62.1% in the 2nd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 201 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Assurant during the 4th quarter worth $51,000. Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in Assurant during the second quarter valued at about $51,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Assurant by 40.1% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 353 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Assurant Stock Performance

Shares of AIZ opened at $192.87 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $10.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.46, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.57. Assurant, Inc. has a twelve month low of $144.61 and a twelve month high of $201.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.40. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $191.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $178.96.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.58 by $0.50. Assurant had a net margin of 6.90% and a return on equity of 19.63%. The business had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.89 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.89 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.10%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Assurant from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Assurant from $186.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Assurant from $200.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Assurant from $217.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on Assurant from $228.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $214.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at Assurant

In other news, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 550 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.44, for a total transaction of $103,642.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,152 shares in the company, valued at $593,962.88. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 550 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.44, for a total value of $103,642.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $593,962.88. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Martin Jenns sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.13, for a total transaction of $267,195.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,027 shares in the company, valued at $717,329.51. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Assurant Profile

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.