Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Takes $8.70 Million Position in Assurant, Inc. $AIZ

Key Points

• Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased 32,400 Assurant shares worth approximately $8.7 million, representing a 0.07% stake. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 92.65% of the company.
• Analysts remain bullish, with a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $327.14, above Assurant’s reported opening price of $285.69.
• Assurant exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $6.41 in EPS versus the $5.17 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 9.4% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.88 per share, equivalent to a 1.2% annual yield.

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 32,400 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $8,700,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned 0.07% of Assurant as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC purchased a new position in Assurant in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Assurant during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. BOKF NA acquired a new stake in shares of Assurant in the third quarter worth $32,000. Western Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Assurant in the first quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC raised its stake in shares of Assurant by 81.4% in the 2nd quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 127 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.65% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AIZ has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $310.00 target price on shares of Assurant in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Assurant from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Assurant from $274.00 to $331.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Assurant from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on Assurant from $290.00 to $329.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $327.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Assurant news, EVP Robert Lonergan sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,191,423.54. This represents a 20.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Nair Biju sold 3,931 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.46, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

Assurant Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE AIZ opened at $285.69 on Friday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $278.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $249.28. Assurant, Inc. has a 52-week low of $205.01 and a 52-week high of $303.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.64 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ - Get Free Report) last released its 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. The company had revenue of $3.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.43 billion. Assurant had a return on equity of 20.40% and a net margin of 7.90%.Assurant's quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.56 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Assurant, Inc. will post 22.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

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

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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