Swiss National Bank Has $30.35 Million Stock Position in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Key Points

• Swiss National Bank reduced its stake in Assurant, Inc. by 1.1%, holding approximately 144,700 shares valued at $30.35 million after selling 1,600 shares in the first quarter.
• Assurant reported a earnings per share (EPS) of $5.56 for the last quarter, surpassing estimates by $1.13, with a revenue increase of 8.0% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.80 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 1.6%, with a payout ratio of 23.17%.

Swiss National Bank trimmed its stake in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) by 1.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 144,700 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,600 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.28% of Assurant worth $30,351,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Assurant by 12.7% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,740,659 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $784,603,000 after acquiring an additional 420,069 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Assurant by 23.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 831,864 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $177,370,000 after acquiring an additional 156,364 shares during the period. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Assurant by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 607,458 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $129,522,000 after acquiring an additional 7,211 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in shares of Assurant by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 581,411 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $121,951,000 after acquiring an additional 30,629 shares during the period. Finally, First Manhattan CO. LLC. lifted its position in shares of Assurant by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. now owns 394,044 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $84,018,000 after acquiring an additional 14,610 shares during the period. 92.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AIZ has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Assurant from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Benchmark started coverage on Assurant in a research report on Tuesday. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Assurant from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Assurant from $217.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Stephens started coverage on Assurant in a research report on Tuesday. They set an "overweight" rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $231.57.

Assurant Trading Down 0.1%

Assurant stock traded down $0.12 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $212.81. The stock had a trading volume of 578,289 shares, compared to its average volume of 435,513. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock has a market cap of $10.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.41 and a beta of 0.58. Assurant, Inc. has a one year low of $174.97 and a one year high of $230.55. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $194.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $199.22.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $5.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $1.13. The firm had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.13 billion. Assurant had a return on equity of 16.47% and a net margin of 5.83%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.77 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Assurant's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.17%.

Insider Activity

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