Mount Lucas Management LP Acquires 12,529 Shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Mount Lucas Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 102.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 24,786 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,529 shares during the period. Assurant comprises about 1.2% of Mount Lucas Management LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Mount Lucas Management LP’s holdings in Assurant were worth $4,121,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Assurant by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,466 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $244,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its position in shares of Assurant by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 1,980 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $373,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Assurant by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,373 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,200,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in shares of Assurant by 35.7% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 346 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL lifted its position in shares of Assurant by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 17,297 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,256,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Assurant

In other news, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 550 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,152 shares in the company, valued at $593,962.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Martin Jenns sold 1,500 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.13, for a total value of $267,195.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,027 shares in the company, valued at $717,329.51. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 550 shares of Assurant 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $593,962.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Assurant from $210.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Assurant from $223.00 to $222.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Piper Sandler cut shares of Assurant from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Assurant from $186.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $207.60.

Assurant Stock Down 1.2 %

NYSE:AIZ traded down $2.28 on Friday, reaching $192.58. 365,547 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 351,180. The company has a market capitalization of $10.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.44, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Assurant, Inc. has a 12 month low of $136.88 and a 12 month high of $199.50. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $178.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $176.42.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.58 by $0.50. The business had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.89 billion. Assurant had a net margin of 6.90% and a return on equity of 19.63%. Assurant’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.89 EPS. Equities analysts predict 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 will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.50%. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.10%.

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.