Swedbank AB Grows Position in Assurant, Inc. $AIZ

Swedbank AB grew its stake in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 125.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,414 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,569 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB’s holdings in Assurant were worth $1,345,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new stake in shares of Assurant during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Assurant during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in shares of Assurant by 192.2% during the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 149 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Assurant by 312.8% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 161 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Assurant by 57.8% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 183 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Assurant news, CEO Keith Demmings sold 4,275 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.27, for a total value of $941,654.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 98,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,668,400.44. This represents a 4.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 950 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was 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 $642,549.60. This trade represents a 23.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 13,400 shares of company stock worth $2,891,288. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on AIZ. Zacks Research raised Assurant from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Benchmark started coverage on Assurant in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley reiterated a “cautious” rating on shares of Assurant in a report on Monday, August 18th. Stephens started coverage on Assurant in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Assurant from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.29.

Assurant Stock Performance

NYSE AIZ opened at $205.39 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $10.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.87 and a beta of 0.55. 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $202.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $199.81. Assurant, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $174.97 and a fifty-two week high of $230.55.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $5.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $1.13. The firm had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.13 billion. Assurant had a return on equity of 16.47% and a net margin of 5.83%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.77 EPS. Assurant has set its FY 2025 guidance at 22.390-22.390 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 earnings per share for the current 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. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.17%.

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.