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

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management increased its stake in Assurant by 77.7% in the first quarter, bringing its holdings to 13,000 shares worth about $2.83 million.
• Wall Street sentiment on Assurant remains positive, with nine analysts rating it a Buy and one Hold; the average price target is $283.57, and several firms recently raised their targets.
• Assurant reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $5.95 beating estimates and revenue rising 11.3% year over year, while the company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.88 per share.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) by 77.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 5,685 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Assurant were worth $2,832,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Assurant by 15.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 124,993 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $27,076,000 after acquiring an additional 16,388 shares in the last quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Assurant by 25.6% during the 3rd quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 274,862 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $59,537,000 after purchasing an additional 56,009 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its holdings in shares of Assurant by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 185,949 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $44,786,000 after purchasing an additional 26,678 shares in the last quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Assurant by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 310,802 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $67,320,000 after purchasing an additional 6,277 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Assurant by 198.9% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 11,997 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,889,000 after purchasing an additional 7,983 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.65% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on AIZ shares. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Assurant in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. UBS Group boosted their target price on Assurant from $270.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Assurant from $258.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Assurant from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the company from $240.00 to $285.00 in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $310.00 price target on shares of Assurant in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $283.57.

Assurant Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:AIZ opened at $268.53 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.74 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.39. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $250.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $236.22. Assurant, Inc. has a 52-week low of $183.39 and a 52-week high of $270.78.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $5.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.29 by $0.66. Assurant had a net margin of 7.60% and a return on equity of 20.32%. The firm had revenue of $3.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.79 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Assurant, Inc. will post 21.04 EPS for the current year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 29th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th were given a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 8th. Assurant's payout ratio is 18.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Assurant

In other news, EVP Robert Lonergan sold 7,000 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.71, for a total transaction of $1,838,970.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 27,374 shares in the company, valued at $7,191,423.54. This trade represents a 20.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jay Rosenblum sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.77, for a total transaction of $503,540.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 12,764 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,213,592.28. The trade was a 13.55% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 36,000 shares of company stock valued at $9,211,620 in the last ninety days. Corporate 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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