Vontobel Holding Ltd. Reduces Stake in Assurant, Inc. $AIZ

Vontobel Holding Ltd. reduced its position in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 5.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,892 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 114 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in Assurant were worth $374,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Assurant by 12.7% in 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. increased its stake in Assurant by 28.0% in 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. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Assurant by 8.8% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 889,310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $186,533,000 after purchasing an additional 72,046 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Assurant by 1.1% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 841,006 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $176,401,000 after buying an additional 9,142 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in Assurant by 5.6% during the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 581,411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $121,951,000 after buying an additional 30,629 shares in the last quarter. 92.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on AIZ shares. UBS Group raised their price target on Assurant from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Assurant from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Wall Street Zen raised Assurant from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Benchmark started coverage on Assurant in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Stephens began coverage on Assurant in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $243.00.

Insider Activity at Assurant

In related news, CEO Keith Demmings sold 13,725 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction on Friday, October 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.52, for a total value of $3,026,637.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 84,647 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,666,356.44. This trade represents a 13.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jay Rosenblum sold 3,900 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction on 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 owned 7,875 shares in the company, valued at $1,642,173.75. The trade was a 33.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 27,125 shares of company stock worth $5,917,925. 0.51% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Assurant Price Performance

AIZ stock opened at $221.57 on Wednesday. Assurant, Inc. has a 52-week low of $174.97 and a 52-week high of $230.55. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $213.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $200.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.04 and a beta of 0.55.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.80 earnings per share for the quarter. Assurant had a return on equity of 16.47% and a net margin of 5.83%.The firm had revenue of $2.42 billion for the quarter. Assurant has set its FY 2022 guidance at $13.062-$13.512 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 EPS for the current year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were issued a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.17%.

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.