US Bancorp DE Buys 206 Shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 18.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the quarter. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in Assurant were worth $278,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new stake in Assurant during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in Assurant by 192.2% during the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 149 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in Assurant by 312.8% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 161 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Assurant by 47.3% during the first quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 190 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Assurant during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. 92.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Assurant

In other news, EVP Jay Rosenblum sold 3,900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.53, for a total transaction of $813,267.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 7,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,642,173.75. This represents a 33.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 950 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.96, for a total value of $194,712.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 3,135 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $642,549.60. This represents a 23.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Assurant Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE AIZ opened at $212.82 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.41 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $194.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $199.24. Assurant, Inc. has a 52-week low of $174.97 and a 52-week high of $230.55.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $5.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.43 by $1.13. The company had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. Assurant had a return on equity of 16.47% and a net margin of 5.83%. Assurant’s revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.77 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AIZ has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stephens initiated coverage on Assurant in a research note on Tuesday. They set an “overweight” rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Assurant in a research note on Tuesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $238.00 target price on the stock. Benchmark initiated coverage on Assurant in a research note on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised Assurant from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Assurant from $217.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $231.57.

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.