Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Decreases Stake in Assurant, Inc. $AIZ

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management reduced its Assurant stake by 32.3% in the second quarter, selling 4,193 shares and retaining 8,807 shares valued at approximately $2.37 million. Institutional investors collectively own 92.65% of Assurant.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $313.71. UBS and Truist recently raised their targets to $331 and $355, respectively.
• Assurant reported quarterly EPS of $6.41, beating estimates of $5.17, while revenue rose 9.4% year over year to $3.45 billion. The company also maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.88, equivalent to a 1.3% yield.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. cut its holdings in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) by 32.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,807 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 4,193 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Assurant were worth $2,365,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Assurant by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,040,347 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,213,968,000 after purchasing an additional 29,974 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Assurant by 22.4% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,125,406 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $245,121,000 after purchasing an additional 205,767 shares in the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Assurant by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 697,555 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $168,006,000 after purchasing an additional 49,698 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Assurant in the fourth quarter worth $161,574,000. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its position in shares of Assurant by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 640,431 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $154,248,000 after buying an additional 31,432 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.65% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group upped their target price on Assurant from $274.00 to $331.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $310.00 target price on shares of Assurant in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Wall Street Zen cut Assurant from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 25th. Truist Financial raised their price target on Assurant from $310.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Assurant from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a research note on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $313.71.

Assurant Trading Down 0.0%

NYSE AIZ opened at $281.06 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $13.86 billion, a PE ratio of 13.42 and a beta of 0.55. Assurant, Inc. has a 1-year low of $205.01 and a 1-year high of $303.94. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $273.31 and a 200-day moving average of $245.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The financial services provider reported $6.41 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.17 by $1.24. Assurant had a return on equity of 20.40% and a net margin of 7.90%.The business had revenue of $3.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.56 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Assurant, Inc. will post 21.61 EPS for the current year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 8th were issued a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 8th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Assurant's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.81%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Assurant news, EVP Robert Lonergan sold 7,000 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.71, for a total transaction of $1,838,970.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 27,374 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,191,423.54. The trade was a 20.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Nair Biju sold 3,931 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 24,247 shares in the company, valued at $7,333,747.62. This trade represents a 13.95% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 12,931 shares of company stock worth $3,539,300 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

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.

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