BNP Paribas Financial Markets Purchases 60,227 Shares of Assurant, Inc. $AIZ

Key Points

• BNP Paribas Financial Markets significantly increased its Assurant stake in the fourth quarter, buying 60,227 more shares and lifting holdings to 117,873 shares worth about $28.4 million.
• Assurant reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $5.95 and revenue of $3.42 billion, both topping analyst estimates and rising 11.3% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.88 per share and has drawn generally bullish analyst sentiment, with nine Buy ratings and a consensus target price of $275.83.

BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) by 104.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 117,873 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 60,227 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned approximately 0.24% of Assurant worth $28,390,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AIZ. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in shares of Assurant by 606.7% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,060 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $222,000 after purchasing an additional 910 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Assurant by 19.6% in 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 purchasing an additional 47,548 shares during the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new stake in shares of Assurant in the first quarter valued at about $203,000. Focus Partners Wealth raised its holdings in shares of Assurant by 66.6% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 2,648 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $556,000 after purchasing an additional 1,059 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Assurant by 57.8% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 183 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.65% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Assurant

In related news, EVP Keith Meier sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.31, for a total transaction of $6,357,750.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 18,552 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,717,959.12. This represents a 57.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Subhashish Sengupta sold 1,880 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.53, for a total transaction of $395,796.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 2,895 shares in the company, valued at $609,484.35. This represents a 39.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 31,650 shares of company stock valued at $7,930,981. 0.54% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Assurant Stock Up 1.4%

AIZ opened at $251.86 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock has a market cap of $12.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.88 and a beta of 0.56. Assurant, Inc. has a twelve month low of $183.39 and a twelve month high of $260.96. The company's 50-day moving average price is $235.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $231.69.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $5.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.29 by $0.66. The firm had revenue of $3.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.29 billion. Assurant had a net margin of 7.60% and a return on equity of 20.32%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.79 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Assurant, Inc. will post 21.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AIZ has been the subject of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Assurant from $268.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Assurant from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the company from $240.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Assurant from $258.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Assurant from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Assurant from $255.00 to $246.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $275.83.

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.

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