Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) Price Target Cut to $240.00 by Analysts at Morgan Stanley

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) had its price objective decreased by Morgan Stanley from $248.00 to $240.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on AIZ. Truist Financial raised their target price on Assurant from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Assurant from $255.00 to $246.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Assurant from $252.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Assurant in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $256.83.

Assurant Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE AIZ opened at $218.10 on Monday. Assurant has a 52 week low of $174.97 and a 52 week high of $246.31. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $224.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $224.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The company has a market cap of $10.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.85 and a beta of 0.56.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The financial services provider reported $5.61 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.55 by $0.06. Assurant had a return on equity of 18.65% and a net margin of 6.81%.The business had revenue of $3.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.79 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Assurant will post 16.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Assurant

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Assurant

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Montag A & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Assurant during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Assurant by 72.6% during the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC bought a new stake in shares of Assurant during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, BOKF NA bought a new stake in shares of Assurant during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 92.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Assurant Company Profile

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.