CIBC Asset Management Inc Acquires 5,212 Shares of Assurant, Inc. $AIZ

Key Points

• CIBC Asset Management increased its Assurant stake by 79.9% in the fourth quarter, buying 5,212 shares and bringing its total holding to 11,732 shares worth about $2.83 million.
• Assurant has broad institutional support, with 92.65% of shares held by institutional investors; several firms recently increased positions, and analysts mostly remain positive with a Moderate Buy consensus and target price of $275.83.
• The company reported better-than-expected Q1 earnings of $5.95 per share on revenue of $3.42 billion, and it also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.88 per share, equal to a 1.4% annualized yield.

CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) by 79.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,732 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 5,212 shares during the quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc's holdings in Assurant were worth $2,826,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Assurant by 15.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 124,993 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $27,076,000 after buying an additional 16,388 shares in the last quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC increased its position in Assurant by 25.6% during the 3rd quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 274,862 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $59,537,000 after buying an additional 56,009 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its position in Assurant by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 185,949 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $44,786,000 after buying an additional 26,678 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in Assurant by 603.6% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 7,142 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,547,000 after buying an additional 6,127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clark Capital Management Group Inc. increased its position in Assurant by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 310,802 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $67,320,000 after buying an additional 6,277 shares in the last quarter. 92.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AIZ. Wall Street Zen lowered Assurant from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Assurant from $270.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Assurant from $268.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Morgan Stanley raised Assurant from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $240.00 to $285.00 in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Assurant from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $275.83.

Assurant Stock Performance

AIZ stock opened at $257.47 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $12.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.17 and a beta of 0.56. Assurant, Inc. has a 1 year low of $183.39 and a 1 year high of $260.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.39. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $236.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $231.92.

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

Assurant Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be paid a $0.88 dividend. 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 (DPR) is 18.01%.

Insider Transactions at Assurant

In related news, EVP Jay Rosenblum sold 2,000 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.77, for a total transaction of $503,540.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 12,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,213,592.28. The trade was a 13.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Keith Meier sold 25,000 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.31, for a total value of $6,357,750.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 18,552 shares in the company, valued at $4,717,959.12. This trade represents a 57.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 31,650 shares of company stock valued at $7,930,981. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

Assurant Company 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AIZ? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report).

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.