Assurant, Inc. $AIZ Position Increased by MUFG Securities EMEA plc

Key Points

• MUFG Securities EMEA plc boosted its Assurant stake by 943.5% in the fourth quarter, ending with 10,080 shares valued at about $2.43 million.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on Assurant: nine analysts rate it a Buy, with an average target price of $275.83. Recent upgrades included Morgan Stanley raising the stock to overweight and lifting its target to $285.
• Assurant reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $5.95 beating estimates and revenue of $3.42 billion topping forecasts. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.88 per share, payable June 29.

MUFG Securities EMEA plc raised its position in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) by 943.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,080 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 9,114 shares during the quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc's holdings in Assurant were worth $2,428,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AIZ. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in Assurant by 606.7% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,060 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $222,000 after buying an additional 910 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Assurant by 19.6% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 290,759 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $60,987,000 after buying an additional 47,548 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new stake in Assurant during the first quarter valued at about $203,000. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its stake in Assurant by 66.6% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 2,648 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $556,000 after buying an additional 1,059 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Assurant by 57.8% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 183 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. 92.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on AIZ shares. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Assurant from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $240.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Assurant from $255.00 to $246.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Assurant from $258.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Assurant from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Assurant from $270.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $275.83.

Assurant Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE:AIZ opened at $249.41 on Tuesday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $233.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $231.22. Assurant, Inc. has a 52 week low of $183.39 and a 52 week high of $260.96. The company has a market capitalization of $12.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.76 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.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $5.95 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.29 by $0.66. Assurant had a return on equity of 20.32% and a net margin of 7.60%.The firm had revenue of $3.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.79 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Assurant, Inc. will post 21.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 29th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th will be issued a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Assurant's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Assurant news, EVP Keith Meier sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.31, for a total transaction of $6,357,750.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 18,552 shares in the company, valued at $4,717,959.12. This trade represents a 57.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Jay Rosenblum sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.77, for a total value of $503,540.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 12,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,213,592.28. This trade represents a 13.55% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 31,650 shares of company stock worth $7,930,981. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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