Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Buys 15,252 Shares of Assurant, Inc. $AIZ

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management increased its Assurant stake by 173.2% in the third quarter, buying 15,252 additional shares for a total holding valued at $6.34 million. Institutional investors collectively own 92.65% of Assurant.
• Assurant reported quarterly EPS of $6.41, exceeding estimates of $5.17, while revenue rose 9.4% year over year to $3.45 billion. Analysts expect full-year EPS of approximately $22.40.
• Analysts maintain a bullish outlook, with a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $324.29, compared with the stock’s reported price of $283.79. Assurant also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.88 per share, yielding about 1.2% annually.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) by 173.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 24,059 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 15,252 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Assurant were worth $6,340,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Root Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Assurant by 27.5% in the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 246 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its stake in shares of Assurant by 0.9% in the first quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 5,739 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,250,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Assurant by 2.5% in the first quarter. Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,223 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $484,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC raised its stake in shares of Assurant by 81.4% in the second quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 127 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Assurant by 3.2% in the second quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 1,960 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $526,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.65% of the company's stock.

Assurant Stock Up 1.1%

AIZ opened at $283.79 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market cap of $14.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.84 and a beta of 0.52. Assurant, Inc. has a twelve month low of $206.03 and a twelve month high of $303.94. The company's 50-day moving average price is $277.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $263.77.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The financial services provider reported $6.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.17 by $1.24. The business had revenue of $3.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.43 billion. Assurant had a return on equity of 20.40% and a net margin of 7.90%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.56 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Assurant, Inc. will post 22.40 earnings per share for the current year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st were issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 31st. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Assurant's payout ratio is presently 16.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on AIZ shares. UBS Group increased their price target on Assurant from $274.00 to $331.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Assurant from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (a)" rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Assurant from $274.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Assurant from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Assurant from $310.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and six have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $324.29.

Insider Transactions at Assurant

In other news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,931 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.46, for a total value of $1,188,970.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 24,247 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,333,747.62. This trade represents a 13.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Assurant Profile

Assurant, Inc NYSE: AIZ is a global business services company that provides insurance products and related services. Its offerings are designed to help consumers protect mobile devices, household belongings, vehicles, homes and other significant purchases, while supporting businesses in managing risk and customer relationships.

Assurant operates through three primary business segments: Global Lifestyle, Global Housing and Global Preneed. Global Lifestyle provides mobile device protection, extended service contracts and related services for consumer electronics, appliances and vehicles.

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