Assurant, Inc. $AIZ Shares Sold by Corient Private Wealth LP

Key Points

• Corient Private Wealth reduced its Assurant stake by 38.7% in the second quarter, selling 12,723 shares and retaining 20,120 shares worth approximately $5.4 million. Institutional investors collectively own 92.65% of AIZ.
• Assurant reported quarterly EPS of $6.41, exceeding estimates of $5.17, while revenue rose 9.4% year over year to $3.45 billion. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.88 per share, equivalent to a 1.2% yield.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with UBS and BMO raising price targets to $331 and $320, respectively. Assurant carries an overall “Buy” rating and an average target price of $327.14, although two executives recently sold shares.

Corient Private Wealth LP trimmed its position in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) by 38.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 20,120 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 12,723 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LP's holdings in Assurant were worth $5,403,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AIZ. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Assurant by 0.6% in 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. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Assurant during the second quarter worth approximately $1,345,211,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Assurant by 22.4% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,125,406 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $245,121,000 after buying an additional 205,767 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Assurant during the 2nd quarter worth $269,635,000. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Assurant during the 4th quarter worth $161,574,000. 92.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Assurant news, EVP Robert Lonergan sold 7,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 27,374 shares in the company, valued at $7,191,423.54. This represents a 20.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,931 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were 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 owned 24,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,333,747.62. The trade was a 13.95% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

Assurant Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE AIZ opened at $281.81 on Friday. Assurant, Inc. has a 12 month low of $206.03 and a 12 month high of $303.94. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $282.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $255.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a market capitalization of $13.90 billion, a PE ratio of 13.46 and a beta of 0.54.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The financial services provider reported $6.41 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $3.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.56 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Assurant, Inc. will post 22.28 EPS for the current year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 28th. Investors of record on Monday, August 31st will be given a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 31st. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Assurant's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AIZ has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Assurant from $274.00 to $331.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Zacks Research raised shares of Assurant from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Assurant from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Assurant from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Assurant from $274.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and six have issued a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $327.14.

About Assurant

Assurant, Inc is a global business services and insurance company that provides protection products and services supporting major purchases and everyday needs. Its offerings are designed to help consumers, businesses and distribution partners manage risks associated with connected devices, housing and transportation.

The company's Lifestyle segment provides mobile device protection, extended service contracts, vehicle service contracts and related services. Its Global Housing segment offers renters insurance, homeowners insurance, lender-placed insurance and other specialty property products.

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