Royal Bank of Canada Reduces Stock Position in Assurant, Inc. $AIZ

Royal Bank of Canada lowered its position in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 9.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 86,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,895 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned about 0.17% of Assurant worth $18,112,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AIZ. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Assurant by 12.7% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,740,659 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $784,603,000 after purchasing an additional 420,069 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Assurant by 28.0% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,479,310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $310,285,000 after purchasing an additional 323,573 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Assurant by 1,499.1% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 344,128 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $73,375,000 after purchasing an additional 322,608 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Assurant by 20,818.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 308,123 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $646,290,000 after purchasing an additional 306,650 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Assurant during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,095,000. 92.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Assurant Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE:AIZ opened at $211.02 on Wednesday. Assurant, Inc. has a one year low of $174.97 and a one year high of $230.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $200.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $199.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.28 and a beta of 0.55.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $5.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $1.13. The business had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. Assurant had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 16.47%. Assurant’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.77 earnings per share. Assurant has set its FY 2025 guidance at 22.390-22.390 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Assurant’s payout ratio is 23.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AIZ has been the topic of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Assurant in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $238.00 target price on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Assurant from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Benchmark initiated coverage on shares of Assurant in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Assurant in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. They set an “overweight” rating on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Assurant from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $233.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Assurant news, EVP Jay Rosenblum sold 3,900 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.53, for a total value of $813,267.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 7,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,642,173.75. The trade was a 33.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Keith Demmings sold 4,275 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.27, for a total transaction of $941,654.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 98,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,668,400.44. This trade represents a 4.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 13,400 shares of company stock valued at $2,891,288. Insiders own 0.51% 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.