Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Increases Stock Position in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 45.2% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 117,079 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 36,458 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Assurant were worth $23,282,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AIZ. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Assurant during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in Assurant by 62.1% in the 2nd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 201 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new position in Assurant during the second quarter worth $51,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Assurant by 40.1% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 353 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of Assurant by 35.7% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 346 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. 92.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Assurant

In other news, EVP Martin Jenns sold 1,500 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.13, for a total transaction of $267,195.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $717,329.51. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Martin Jenns sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.13, for a total value of $267,195.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $717,329.51. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 550 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.44, for a total transaction of $103,642.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,152 shares in the company, valued at $593,962.88. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on AIZ shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Assurant from $217.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Assurant from $186.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Assurant from $200.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Assurant from $228.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Assurant currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $214.60.

Assurant Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AIZ opened at $191.77 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $9.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.38, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.57. Assurant, Inc. has a one year low of $145.48 and a one year high of $201.55. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $194.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $179.73. 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 (NYSE:AIZ) last posted 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 company had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.89 billion. Assurant had a net margin of 6.90% and a return on equity of 19.63%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.89 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.50%. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio 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.