Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 38,199 Shares of Assurant, Inc. $AIZ

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. decreased its stake in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 83.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 38,199 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Assurant were worth $1,762,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AIZ. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in Assurant by 72.6% in the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC acquired a new position in Assurant during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Assurant by 65.6% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 149 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. BOKF NA bought a new position in shares of Assurant in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Assurant in the third quarter worth $34,000. 92.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Assurant from $252.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Assurant in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Assurant from $255.00 to $246.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on Assurant from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $258.17.

Assurant Stock Up 1.3%

AIZ opened at $216.08 on Tuesday. Assurant, Inc. has a 1-year low of $174.97 and a 1-year high of $246.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.73 and a beta of 0.58. The business has a 50 day moving average of $225.91 and a 200-day moving average of $224.67.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The financial services provider reported $5.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.55 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $3.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.28 billion. Assurant had a net margin of 6.81% and a return on equity of 18.65%. Assurant’s revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.79 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Assurant’s payout ratio is presently 20.74%.

Insider Transactions at Assurant

In related news, EVP Subhashish Sengupta sold 1,880 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.53, for a total transaction of $395,796.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 2,895 shares in the company, valued at $609,484.35. The trade was a 39.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.98, for a total value of $158,235.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,000,256.18. This trade represents a 13.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 2,650 shares of company stock valued at $558,331 in the last ninety days. 0.51% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Assurant

Assurant, Inc is a global provider of risk management products and services, specializing in the housing and lifestyle markets. The company offers insurance and related products designed to help consumers protect their homes, personal belongings, and electronic devices. Its core offerings include renters insurance, manufactured housing finance, flood insurance, mobile device protection plans, and extended service contracts for appliances and electronics.

Within its Global Housing segment, Assurant partners with mortgage lenders, financial institutions and government agencies to deliver specialty insurance and risk mitigation services.