Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

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Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

Our common stock is listed on the NYSE under the symbol “AIZ.” On February 15, 2019, there were approximately 205 registered holders of record of our common stock.

Stock Performance Graph

The following graph compares the cumulative total return (stock price increase plus dividends paid) on our common stock from December 31, 2013 through December 31, 2018 with the cumulative total returns for the S&P 400 MidCap Index and the S&P 500 Index, as the broad equity market indexes, and the S&P 400 Multi-line Insurance Index and the S&P 500 Multi-line Insurance Index, as the published industry indexes. The graph assumes that the value of the investment in our common stock and each index was $100 on December 31, 2013 and that all dividends were reinvested.

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Total Values/Annual Return Percentages

(Includes reinvestment of dividends)

Initial Investment at 12/31/13TOTAL VALUES December 31,
Security / Index20142015201620172018
Assurant, Inc. Common Stock$100.00$104.75$125.62$148.42$164.73$149.67
S&P 500 Index100.00113.69115.26129.05157.22150.33
S&P 400 MidCap Index100.00109.77107.38129.65150.71134.01
S&P 500 Multi-line Insurance Index*100.00104.77112.35123.89125.1794.58
S&P 400 Multi-line Insurance Index*100.00109.37136.14170.03233.12207.13
ANNUAL RETURN PERCENTAGES Years Ended December 31,
Security / Index20142015201620172018
Assurant, Inc. Common Stock4.75%19.93%18.14%10.99%(9.14)%
S&P 500 Index13.691.3811.9621.83(4.38)
S&P 400 MidCap Index9.77(2.18)20.7416.24(11.08)
S&P 500 Multi-line Insurance Index*4.777.2410.271.03(24.44)
S&P 400 Multi-line Insurance Index*9.3724.4724.9037.11(11.15)
*The S&P 400 Multi-line Insurance Index is comprised of mid-cap companies, while the S&P 500 Multi-line Insurance Index is comprised of large-cap companies.

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

Period in 2018Total Number of Shares PurchasedAverage Price Paid Per ShareTotal Number of Shares Purchased as Part of Publicly Announced Plans or Programs (1)Approximate Dollar Value of Shares that May Yet be Purchased Under the Plans or Programs (1)
January 1 – January 31—$——$293.4
February 1 – February 28———293.4
March 1 – March 31———293.4
Total first quarter———293.4
April 1 – April 30———293.4
May 1 – May 31———293.4
June 1 – June 30———293.4
Total second quarter———293.4
July 1 – July 31281,010107.28281,010263.3
August 1 – August 31317,600106.06317,600229.6
September 1 – September 30185,000104.52185,000210.3
Total third quarter783,610106.13783,610210.3
October 1 – October 31332,987103.10332,987176.0
November 1 – November 30105,08698.31105,086765.7
December 1 – December 3148,00093.9448,000761.2
Total fourth quarter486,073101.16486,073761.2
Total January 1 – December 311,269,683$104.231,269,683$761.2
(1)Shares purchased pursuant to the November 14, 2016 publicly announced share repurchase authorization of up to $600.0 million of outstanding common stock. On November 5, 2018, we publicly announced that the Board authorized us to repurchase up to an additional $600.0 million of outstanding common stock.

Dividend Policy

On January 18, 2019, the Board declared a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per common share payable on March 18, 2019 to common stockholders of record as of February 25, 2019 and a quarterly dividend of $1.625 per share of the Mandatory Convertible Preferred Stock payable on March 15, 2019 to preferred stockholders of record as of March 1, 2019. Any determination to pay future dividends will be at the discretion of the Board and will be dependent upon various factors including: our subsidiaries’ payment of dividends and other statutorily permissible payments to us; our results of operations and cash flows; our financial condition and capital requirements; general business conditions and growth prospects; any legal, tax, regulatory and contractual restrictions on the payment of dividends; and any other factors the Board deems relevant.

We are a holding company and, therefore, our ability to pay dividends, repurchase shares or debt, service our debt and meet our other obligations depends primarily on the ability of our regulated U.S. domiciled insurance subsidiaries to pay dividends and make other statutorily permissible payments to us. Our insurance subsidiaries are subject to significant regulatory and contractual restrictions limiting their ability to declare and pay dividends. See “Item 1A – Risk Factors – Financial Risks – Our subsidiaries’ inability to pay us sufficient dividends could prevent us from meeting our obligations and paying future stockholder dividends.” For the year ending December 31, 2019, the maximum amount of dividends our regulated U.S. domiciled insurance subsidiaries could pay us under applicable laws and regulations, without prior regulatory approval, is approximately $353.3 million. We may seek approval of regulators to pay dividends in excess of any amounts that would be permitted without such approval. However, there can be no assurance that we would obtain such approval if sought. Dividends or returns of capital paid by our subsidiaries, net of infusions and excluding amounts used for acquisitions, was approximately $739.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2018.

Payments of dividends on shares of common stock are subject to the preferential rights of the Mandatory Convertible Preferred Stock and other preferred stock that the Board may create from time to time. As of December 31, 2018, we had 2,875,000 shares of the Mandatory Convertible Preferred Stock issued and outstanding.

In addition, the Credit Facility restricts payments of dividends if an event of default under the Credit Facility has occurred or if a proposed dividend payment would cause an event of default under the Credit Facility. Further, if we defer the payment of interest on our Subordinated Notes, we generally may not make payments on our capital stock. For more information regarding the Credit Facility, the Subordinated Notes and restrictions on the payment of dividends by us and our insurance subsidiaries, see “Item 7 – Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Liquidity and Capital Resources.”

Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans

See Item 12 of this Report for information about securities authorized for issuance under our equity compensation plans.

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