Asset Management Group Inc. Lowers Position in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Asset Management Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 10.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,074 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 453 shares during the period. Asset Management Group Inc.’s holdings in Assurant were worth $677,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AIZ. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Assurant by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 68,399 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,525,000 after purchasing an additional 3,829 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Assurant during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $611,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its holdings in Assurant by 484.7% during the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 39,615 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 32,840 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Assurant in the fourth quarter worth $108,253,000. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S grew its stake in Assurant by 98.5% in the 4th quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 1,544 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $260,000 after purchasing an additional 766 shares during the period. 92.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Assurant

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AIZ has been the subject of several research reports. Piper Sandler downgraded Assurant from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Assurant from $186.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Assurant from $210.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Assurant from $223.00 to $222.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Assurant from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Assurant currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $207.60.

Assurant Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of Assurant stock opened at $194.27 on Friday. 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 52-week low of $141.30 and a 52-week high of $199.50. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $183.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $177.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.57.

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

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 3rd. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.10%.

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.