Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) Cut to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Monday.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on AIZ. Piper Sandler lowered shares of Assurant from an overweight rating to a neutral rating and set a $200.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Assurant from $210.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Assurant from $186.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Assurant from $223.00 to $222.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $207.60.

Assurant Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE AIZ opened at $194.77 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $177.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $176.15. The company has a market cap of $10.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Assurant has a 12-month low of $136.88 and a 12-month high of $199.50.

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

Assurant Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. 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 payout ratio is 20.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Martin Jenns sold 1,500 shares of Assurant 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $717,329.51. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Assurant news, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 550 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.44, for a total value of $103,642.00. Following the transaction, 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 SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Martin Jenns sold 1,500 shares of Assurant 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,027 shares in the company, valued at approximately $717,329.51. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AIZ. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Assurant during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $108,253,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Assurant by 32.5% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,041,678 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $173,179,000 after buying an additional 255,471 shares in the last quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB bought a new position in shares of Assurant in the first quarter valued at $39,013,000. Gillson Capital LP acquired a new position in Assurant during the fourth quarter worth $27,013,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Assurant by 23.4% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 737,099 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $124,194,000 after acquiring an additional 139,680 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

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.