Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Purchases 72,046 Shares of Assurant, Inc. $AIZ

Key Points

• Price T Rowe Associates Inc. increased its ownership in Assurant, Inc. by 8.8% during the 1st quarter, now holding 889,310 shares valued at approximately $186.5 million.
• Assurant's latest earnings report showed earnings per share of $5.56, surpassing the estimated $4.43, with revenue reaching $3.16 billion, an 8% increase year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.80 per share, with a dividend yield of 1.5%, set to be paid on September 29th.

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) by 8.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 889,310 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 72,046 shares during the quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned about 1.75% of Assurant worth $186,533,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Assurant by 12.0% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 79,289 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $16,631,000 after acquiring an additional 8,478 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Assurant by 14.2% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 6,163 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,271,000 after purchasing an additional 766 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Assurant by 49.1% in the first quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 10,187 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,137,000 after purchasing an additional 3,356 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Assurant by 35.6% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,034 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,287,000 after purchasing an additional 1,584 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.65% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Zacks Research raised Assurant from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Assurant from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Stephens began coverage on Assurant in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. They set an "overweight" rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Assurant in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $238.00 target price for the company. Finally, Benchmark started coverage on shares of Assurant in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $233.29.

Assurant Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of AIZ traded down $2.91 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $215.78. 625,390 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 469,122. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.40. Assurant, Inc. has a 52 week low of $174.97 and a 52 week high of $230.55. The company has a market cap of $10.89 billion, a PE ratio of 15.62 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $198.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $199.16.

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

Assurant Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. Assurant's dividend payout ratio is currently 23.17%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 950 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.96, for a total value of $194,712.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 3,135 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $642,549.60. The trade was a 23.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jay Rosenblum sold 3,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.53, for a total value of $813,267.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 7,875 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,642,173.75. This trade represents a 33.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.51% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Assurant Profile

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.