Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) Shares Sold by Truist Financial Corp

Truist Financial Corp cut its stake in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 29.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,421 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,020 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp’s holdings in Assurant were worth $304,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State of Michigan Retirement System raised its position in Assurant by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 14,467 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,737,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Ethic Inc. raised its position in Assurant by 273.8% during the 1st quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 6,459 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $776,000 after buying an additional 4,731 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its position in Assurant by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 83,373 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,011,000 after buying an additional 1,574 shares during the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd purchased a new position in Assurant during the 1st quarter worth approximately $410,000. Finally, First Republic Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Assurant by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. First Republic Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,183 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,543,000 after buying an additional 678 shares during the last quarter. 93.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AIZ has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Assurant in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Assurant from $166.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Assurant from $180.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Assurant from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 2nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $157.00.

Assurant Price Performance

NYSE:AIZ opened at $163.06 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $147.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $136.53. Assurant, Inc. has a 1-year low of $104.49 and a 1-year high of $167.81. The firm has a market cap of $8.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.42.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 1st. The financial services provider reported $4.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $1.81. Assurant had a net margin of 4.89% and a return on equity of 17.35%. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.01 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Assurant, Inc. will post 14.19 EPS for the current year.

Assurant announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, November 9th that authorizes the company to repurchase $600.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 7.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Assurant Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, November 27th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 24th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.77%. This is a boost from Assurant’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.48%.

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 products and related services for consumer electronics and appliances, and credit and other insurance products; and vehicle protection, leased and financed solutions, and other related services.