Brokerages Set Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) PT at $234.17

Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $234.17.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on AIZ shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Assurant from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $212.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Assurant in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $251.00 target price for the company. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Assurant from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th.

Insider Activity at Assurant

In other Assurant news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.50, for a total value of $604,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 17,708 shares in the company, valued at $3,568,162. This trade represents a 14.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Assurant

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Atria Investments Inc raised its holdings in Assurant by 51.9% in the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 2,572 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $511,000 after acquiring an additional 879 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Assurant by 16.9% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 5,348 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,064,000 after buying an additional 773 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank raised its position in shares of Assurant by 509.4% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Assurant by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 3,595 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $715,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Assurant by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 7,615 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,514,000 after buying an additional 466 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Assurant Price Performance

NYSE:AIZ opened at $211.91 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $10.76 billion, a PE ratio of 14.64 and a beta of 0.61. Assurant has a 12 month low of $160.12 and a 12 month high of $230.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $208.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $206.52.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $4.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.83. Assurant had a net margin of 6.40% and a return on equity of 17.25%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Assurant will post 16.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.11%.

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.