Point72 DIFC Ltd Purchases New Holdings in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 5,048 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,004,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AIZ. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its position in shares of Assurant by 11,480.4% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 464,952 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $92,460,000 after acquiring an additional 460,937 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Assurant by 32.5% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,041,678 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $173,179,000 after purchasing an additional 255,471 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Assurant in the third quarter worth $284,730,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Assurant during the third quarter valued at $26,630,000. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Assurant by 20.4% during the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 566,123 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $94,118,000 after purchasing an additional 96,021 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.65% of the company's stock.

Assurant Price Performance

AIZ traded down $1.15 during trading on Friday, reaching $224.22. The stock had a trading volume of 247,594 shares, compared to its average volume of 353,070. Assurant, Inc. has a 1-year low of $160.12 and a 1-year high of $230.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.99 and a beta of 0.61. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $206.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $187.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.48. Assurant had a return on equity of 17.42% and a net margin of 6.31%. The firm had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.29 earnings per share. Assurant's revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Assurant, Inc. will post 15.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. This is an increase from Assurant's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. Assurant's payout ratio is presently 22.82%.

Insider Activity at Assurant

In related news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.18, for a total value of $627,540.00. Following the transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on AIZ shares. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Assurant from $200.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Assurant in a research note on Thursday. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $251.00 target price for the company. UBS Group increased their price target on Assurant from $217.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. StockNews.com lowered Assurant from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Assurant from $194.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock 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 assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $229.50.

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.