Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Buys 29,956 Shares of Assurant, Inc. $AIZ

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Assurant, Inc. by 690.7%, purchasing an additional 29,956 shares, bringing its total ownership to approximately $6.77 million.
• Analysts have issued various ratings for Assurant, with Zacks Research upgrading it from "hold" to "strong-buy", and BMO Capital Markets setting a price target of $238.00.
• Assurant reported a 12% year-over-year revenue increase to $3.16 billion for the last quarter, alongside a better-than-expected EPS of $5.56, outperforming estimates by $1.13.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) by 690.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 34,293 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 29,956 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.07% of Assurant worth $6,773,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new position in shares of Assurant during the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new position in Assurant in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in Assurant by 192.2% in the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 149 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in Assurant by 312.8% in the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 161 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the period. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Assurant by 57.8% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 183 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.65% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AIZ has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stephens started coverage on shares of Assurant in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. They issued an "overweight" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley reiterated a "cautious" rating on shares of Assurant in a research report on Monday, August 18th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Assurant in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $238.00 price target on the stock. Zacks Research raised Assurant from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Assurant from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $234.83.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Keith Demmings sold 4,275 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.27, for a total value of $941,654.25. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 98,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,668,400.44. The trade was a 4.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jay Rosenblum sold 3,900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.53, for a total value of $813,267.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 7,875 shares in the company, valued at $1,642,173.75. The trade was a 33.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 13,400 shares of company stock valued at $2,891,288 in the last quarter. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Assurant Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of AIZ opened at $212.47 on Wednesday. The business's 50 day moving average is $204.26 and its 200 day moving average is $199.98. The company has a market capitalization of $10.72 billion, a PE ratio of 15.39 and a beta of 0.55. Assurant, Inc. has a 12-month low of $174.97 and a 12-month high of $230.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $5.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $1.13. The firm had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.13 billion. Assurant had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 16.47%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.77 earnings per share. Assurant has set its FY 2025 guidance at 22.390-22.390 EPS. Research analysts expect that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. Assurant's payout ratio 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.

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