Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Takes $244,000 Position in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,227 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $244,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AIZ. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Assurant in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Assurant in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted 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 purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Assurant by 509.4% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of Assurant in the 3rd quarter valued at $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Assurant Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE AIZ opened at $213.18 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Assurant, Inc. has a 12 month low of $160.12 and a 12 month high of $230.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.93 billion, a PE ratio of 15.21 and a beta of 0.61. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $209.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $190.39.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Assurant had a net margin of 6.31% and a return on equity of 17.42%. The business had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.29 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Assurant, Inc. will post 15.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Assurant Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This is a positive change from Assurant’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.50%. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio is 22.82%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AIZ shares. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Assurant from $200.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Assurant from $217.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Assurant from $194.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Assurant in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $251.00 price target for the company. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Assurant from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $229.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,658 shares in the company, valued at $4,321,240.44. This trade represents a 12.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company 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.