Deutsche Bank AG Purchases 30,629 Shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Key Points

• Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in Assurant, Inc. by 5.6%, owning approximately 1.14% of the company, worth around $121.95 million, as of the latest SEC filing.
• Recent analyst upgrades include Morgan Stanley raising its target price from $217 to $218, and Wall Street Zen upgrading Assurant from a "hold" to a "buy" rating, with a consensus price target of $228.83.
• Assurant reported a quarterly EPS of $5.56, exceeding estimates, with revenue of $3.16 billion, reflecting an 8.0% year-over-year increase.

Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) by 5.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 581,411 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 30,629 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG owned 1.14% of Assurant worth $121,951,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Assurant by 12.7% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,740,659 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $784,603,000 after purchasing an additional 420,069 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Assurant by 23.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 831,864 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $177,370,000 after purchasing an additional 156,364 shares during the last quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. boosted its position in Assurant by 1.2% in 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 buying an additional 7,211 shares during the period. First Manhattan CO. LLC. boosted its position in Assurant by 3.9% in 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 buying an additional 14,610 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in Assurant by 1,499.1% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 344,128 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $73,375,000 after buying an additional 322,608 shares during the period. 92.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Assurant Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of NYSE AIZ traded up $3.66 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $209.37. 404,197 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 427,823. The company has a market capitalization of $10.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.16 and a beta of 0.58. The business's 50-day moving average price is $193.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $199.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Assurant, Inc. has a twelve month low of $174.97 and a twelve month high of $230.55.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $5.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.43 by $1.13. Assurant had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 16.47%. The company had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.77 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast 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 was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th were given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 9th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Assurant's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.17%.

Insider Transactions at Assurant

In related news, EVP Jay Rosenblum sold 1,000 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.93, for a total transaction of $201,930.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 11,775 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,377,725.75. This trade represents a 7.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 950 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.96, for a total transaction of $194,712.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,135 shares in the company, valued at approximately $642,549.60. This represents a 23.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.51% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on AIZ shares. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Assurant in a research report on Tuesday. They issued an "overweight" rating for the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Assurant from $217.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Assurant in a report on Tuesday. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $238.00 price target for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Assurant from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Assurant from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $231.57.

Assurant Company 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.