Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) Shares Sold by Citigroup Inc.

Citigroup Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 7.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 70,926 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,656 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc.’s holdings in Assurant were worth $14,877,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Assurant by 21.6% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 93,244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $19,558,000 after acquiring an additional 16,545 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board lifted its position in Assurant by 45.4% during the 1st quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 7,162 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,502,000 after acquiring an additional 2,237 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in Assurant by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 581,411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $121,951,000 after acquiring an additional 30,629 shares during the period. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. acquired a new stake in Assurant during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,248,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in Assurant by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,224 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,725,000 after acquiring an additional 451 shares during the period. 92.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Assurant Stock Performance

NYSE AIZ opened at $212.82 on Friday. Assurant, Inc. has a 1-year low of $174.97 and a 1-year high of $230.55. The company has a market capitalization of $10.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.41 and a beta of 0.58. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $194.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $199.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.40.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $5.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $1.13. Assurant had a return on equity of 16.47% and a net margin of 5.83%. The firm had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.13 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.77 EPS. Assurant’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Assurant’s payout ratio is currently 23.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AIZ has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Assurant from $217.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Assurant from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Benchmark initiated coverage on Assurant in a research note on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Stephens initiated coverage on Assurant in a research note on Tuesday. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Assurant in a research note on Tuesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $238.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $231.57.

Insider Activity at Assurant

In related news, EVP Jay Rosenblum sold 3,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.53, for a total value of $813,267.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 7,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,642,173.75. This trade represents a 33.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 950 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.96, for a total value of $194,712.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,135 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $642,549.60. The trade was a 23.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

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.