Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) Price Target Raised to $218.00 at Morgan Stanley

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) had its price target lifted by Morgan Stanley from $217.00 to $218.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Assurant from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $223.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Assurant from $224.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $228.83.

Assurant Price Performance

AIZ opened at $191.15 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Assurant has a 12 month low of $164.63 and a 12 month high of $230.55. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $197.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $201.62. The stock has a market cap of $9.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.90 and a beta of 0.59.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $3.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.78 by $0.61. The business had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.06 billion. Assurant had a net margin of 5.55% and a return on equity of 15.49%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.78 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Assurant will post 16.88 EPS for the current year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th were paid a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 9th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.67%. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio is 24.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Assurant

In related news, EVP Jay Rosenblum sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.93, for a total value of $201,930.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 11,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,377,725.75. The trade was a 7.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Assurant

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new position in Assurant in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new position in Assurant in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its position in Assurant by 192.2% in the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 149 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in Assurant by 219.1% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 150 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in Assurant by 312.8% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 161 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. 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.