Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) Reaches New 12-Month High Following Dividend Announcement

Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday after the company announced a dividend. The stock traded as high as $222.67 and last traded at $221.84, with a volume of 25673 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $219.17.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This is a positive change from Assurant’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on AIZ shares. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Assurant from $217.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Assurant from $200.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Assurant from $228.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Assurant from $194.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Assurant currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $225.20.

Assurant Stock Up 0.8 %

The company has a market cap of $11.33 billion, a PE ratio of 15.75, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.57. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $198.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $183.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.42.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.48. Assurant had a net margin of 6.31% and a return on equity of 17.42%. The company had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.94 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.29 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Assurant, Inc. will post 15.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Assurant

In related news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.18, for a total transaction of $627,540.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,658 shares in the company, valued at $4,321,240.44. This represents a 12.68 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Assurant

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in shares of Assurant by 35.7% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 346 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Assurant by 84.3% in the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 6,282 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,182,000 after purchasing an additional 2,874 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd lifted its position in shares of Assurant by 608.5% in the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 5,640 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,062,000 after purchasing an additional 4,844 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Assurant by 3,412.0% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 14,645 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,757,000 after purchasing an additional 14,228 shares during the period. Finally, Lake Street Advisors Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Assurant in the 1st quarter worth about $212,000. 92.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.