Bank of America Corp DE Buys 4,460 Shares of Assurant, Inc. $AIZ

Key Points

• Bank of America increased its Assurant stake by 1.3% in the first quarter, adding 4,460 shares to own 361,210 shares valued at approximately $78.7 million. Institutional investors collectively hold 92.65% of AIZ.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with nine Buy ratings and one Hold rating producing a consensus “Moderate Buy” recommendation and an average price target of $305.57. Several firms recently raised their targets to between $325 and $329.
• Assurant reported quarterly EPS of $6.41, beating estimates by $1.24, while revenue rose 9.4% year over year to $3.45 billion. The company also maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.88 per share, equivalent to a 1.2% yield.

Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) by 1.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 361,210 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,460 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned about 0.73% of Assurant worth $78,675,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AIZ. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Assurant by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 17,064 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,110,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Assurant by 27.5% during the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 246 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of Assurant by 0.9% during the first quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 5,739 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,250,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Assurant by 2.5% in the first quarter. Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,223 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $484,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cresset Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Assurant by 5.4% in the second quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 1,075 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $212,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. 92.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on AIZ shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Assurant from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Assurant from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $310.00 target price on Assurant in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Assurant from $290.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Assurant from $270.00 to $274.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Assurant presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $305.57.

Assurant Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of AIZ opened at $289.33 on Monday. Assurant, Inc. has a 52-week low of $201.96 and a 52-week high of $303.94. The business's fifty day moving average is $270.67 and its 200-day moving average is $244.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.38. The firm has a market cap of $14.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.82 and a beta of 0.55.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The financial services provider reported $6.41 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.56 EPS. Assurant's revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Assurant, Inc. will post 21.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 8th were paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 8th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Assurant's payout ratio is presently 16.81%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Jay Rosenblum sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.77, for a total value of $503,540.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 12,764 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,213,592.28. This represents a 13.55% 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 Robert Lonergan sold 7,000 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 27,374 shares in the company, valued at $7,191,423.54. This trade represents a 20.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 39,931 shares of company stock valued at $10,400,590. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

Assurant 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source