Point72 Asset Management L.P. Invests $26.63 Million in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 133,912 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $26,630,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AIZ. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in Assurant during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Assurant during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Huntington National Bank lifted its position in Assurant by 509.4% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in Assurant by 62.1% in the 2nd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 201 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in Assurant in the third quarter worth approximately $42,000. Institutional investors own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.18, for a total transaction of $627,540.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,658 shares in the company, valued at $4,321,240.44. The trade was a 12.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on AIZ shares. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Assurant in a research note on Thursday. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $251.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Assurant from $217.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Assurant from $200.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Assurant from $228.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Assurant from $194.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $229.50.

Assurant Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AIZ opened at $225.26 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $205.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $187.45. The company has a market cap of $11.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.07 and a beta of 0.61. Assurant, Inc. has a 12 month low of $160.12 and a 12 month high of $230.55.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.48. The business had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.94 billion. Assurant had a return on equity of 17.42% and a net margin of 6.31%. The business’s revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.29 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Assurant, Inc. will post 15.41 EPS 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 of this dividend 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 1.42%. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio is 20.54%.

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.