Caitlin John LLC Takes $1.05 Million Position in Assurant, Inc. $AIZ

Caitlin John LLC purchased a new position in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 3,917 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,052,000. Assurant accounts for 0.6% of Caitlin John LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AIZ. Equitable Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in Assurant in the second quarter valued at about $1,010,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Assurant in the second quarter worth about $4,115,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Assurant in the second quarter worth about $40,000. Corient Private Wealth LP acquired a new stake in shares of Assurant in the second quarter valued at about $8,938,000. Finally, Azora Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Assurant in the second quarter valued at about $10,207,000. 92.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on AIZ. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Assurant from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Assurant from $274.00 to $331.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 25th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Assurant from $310.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $310.00 target price on shares of Assurant in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $316.57.

Insider Activity at Assurant

In other news, EVP Nair Biju sold 3,931 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.46, for a total transaction of $1,188,970.26. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 24,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,333,747.62. This trade represents a 13.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Robert Lonergan sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.71, for a total transaction of $1,838,970.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 27,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,191,423.54. The trade was a 20.36% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Assurant Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE AIZ opened at $285.38 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.38. Assurant, Inc. has a 1 year low of $205.01 and a 1 year high of $303.94. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $278.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $249.02. The firm has a market cap of $14.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.63 and a beta of 0.55.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The financial services provider reported $6.41 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.17 by $1.24. Assurant had a return on equity of 20.40% and a net margin of 7.90%.The firm had revenue of $3.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.56 earnings per share. Assurant’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Assurant, Inc. will post 22.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 31st. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio is 16.81%.

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.