Aberdeen Group plc Has $717,000 Holdings in Assurant, Inc. $AIZ

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc decreased its stake in Assurant, Inc. by 31.4%, ending with 3,630 shares valued at $717,000 as of the last quarter.
• Institutions hold approximately 92.65% of Assurant's stock, indicating strong institutional interest and support in the company.
• Analysts have a generally positive outlook on Assurant, with an average target price of $243.00 and one strong buy rating among numerous buy ratings.

Aberdeen Group plc trimmed its holdings in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) by 31.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,630 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,659 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc's holdings in Assurant were worth $717,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Assurant by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,527 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $302,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Hartford Investment Management Co. raised its position in shares of Assurant by 1.3% in the second quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co. now owns 4,556 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $900,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. raised its position in shares of Assurant by 47.3% in the first quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 190 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Assurant by 57.8% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 183 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Assurant by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,745 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $995,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. 92.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AIZ has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Assurant from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on 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 upgraded Assurant from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Assurant from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Assurant from $230.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $243.00.

Assurant Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of Assurant stock opened at $208.99 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Assurant, Inc. has a 12-month low of $174.97 and a 12-month high of $230.55. The company has a market capitalization of $10.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.13 and a beta of 0.55. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $213.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $200.95.

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

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were paid a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Assurant's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.17%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Keith Demmings sold 13,725 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, October 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.52, for a total transaction of $3,026,637.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 84,647 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,666,356.44. The trade was a 13.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 950 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.96, for a total value of $194,712.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,135 shares in the company, 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 quarter, insiders have sold 27,125 shares of company stock worth $5,917,925. Insiders own 0.51% of the company's stock.

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.

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