Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Purchases 681 Shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 11.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,543 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 681 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Assurant were worth $1,088,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Lyrical Asset Management LP raised its stake in shares of Assurant by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Lyrical Asset Management LP now owns 783,257 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $131,971,000 after acquiring an additional 15,074 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Assurant by 23.4% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 737,099 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $124,194,000 after acquiring an additional 139,680 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Assurant during the fourth quarter valued at about $108,253,000. TD Asset Management Inc raised its stake 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 valued at $94,118,000 after acquiring an additional 96,021 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Assurant by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 255,736 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,089,000 after buying an additional 19,839 shares during the period. 92.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Assurant Price Performance

Shares of AIZ opened at $192.24 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $9.96 billion, a PE ratio of 13.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.40. Assurant, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $137.50 and a fifty-two week high of $199.50. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $180.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $176.85.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.58 by $0.50. Assurant had a net margin of 6.90% and a return on equity of 19.63%. The firm had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.89 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.89 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 3rd. Assurant’s payout ratio is 20.10%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Martin Jenns sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.13, for a total transaction of $267,195.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,027 shares in the company, valued at $717,329.51. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 550 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.44, for a total transaction of $103,642.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,152 shares in the company, valued at $593,962.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Martin Jenns sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.13, for a total transaction of $267,195.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,027 shares in the company, valued at approximately $717,329.51. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AIZ. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Assurant from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Assurant from $186.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Assurant from $210.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Piper Sandler cut shares of Assurant from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Assurant from $223.00 to $222.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Assurant presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $207.60.

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.