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

Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high 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 traded. 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 $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. This is a positive change from Assurant’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Assurant from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Assurant from $228.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Assurant from $194.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. UBS Group raised their target price on Assurant from $217.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Assurant from $200.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $225.20.

Assurant Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $198.15 and a 200-day moving average of $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. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.57.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Assurant

In other news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.18, for a total value of $627,540.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,658 shares in the company, valued at $4,321,240.44. This trade represents a 12.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in Assurant during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Assurant in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Assurant by 62.1% in the second quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 201 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank increased its holdings in Assurant by 509.4% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Assurant during the third quarter worth $42,000. Institutional investors own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Assurant Company 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.