Lazard Asset Management LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Lazard Asset Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 17.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 38,471 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,054 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned 0.08% of Assurant worth $8,202,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in Assurant by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 7,773 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,657,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Assurant by 28.6% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 845 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $168,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in Assurant in the 4th quarter worth approximately $329,000. Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Assurant in the 4th quarter worth approximately $254,000. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Assurant by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 54,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,514,000 after buying an additional 3,500 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AIZ. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Assurant from $230.00 to $224.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Assurant from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com upgraded Assurant from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded Assurant from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $223.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $234.17.

Insider Activity at Assurant

In related news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.50, for a total transaction of $604,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 17,708 shares in the company, valued at $3,568,162. This represents a 14.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.51% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Assurant Stock Performance

Shares of AIZ stock opened at $196.54 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.43. Assurant, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $160.12 and a fifty-two week high of $230.55. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $198.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $206.85. The company has a market capitalization of $10.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.58 and a beta of 0.59.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $3.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.78 by $0.61. The company had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.06 billion. Assurant had a return on equity of 17.25% and a net margin of 6.40%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.78 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Assurant Company 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.