Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Acquires 1,500 Shares of Assurant, Inc. $AIZ

Key Points

• The Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund increased its stake in Assurant, Inc. by 5.6%, owning approximately $5.98 million worth of shares by the end of the first quarter.
• Assurant reported $5.56 earnings per share for the latest quarter, exceeding expectations, with revenue growth of 8% compared to the prior year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.80, with payment scheduled for September 29th, translating to an annual yield of 1.5%.

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund grew its stake in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) by 5.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,514 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund owned approximately 0.06% of Assurant worth $5,981,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Assurant by 47.3% in the first quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 190 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC boosted its position in Assurant by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 553 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $118,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its position in Assurant by 1.6% during the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,745 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $995,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV boosted its position in Assurant by 5.2% during the first quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV now owns 1,620 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $340,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amalgamated Bank boosted its position in Assurant by 0.9% during the first quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 9,918 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,080,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.65% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AIZ has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley restated a "cautious" rating on shares of Assurant in a research report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Assurant in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $238.00 price objective on the stock. Stephens began coverage on Assurant in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. They issued an "overweight" rating for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Assurant from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Assurant from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $233.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Assurant news, EVP Jay Rosenblum sold 3,900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.53, for a total value of $813,267.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 7,875 shares in the company, valued at $1,642,173.75. The trade was a 33.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 950 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.96, for a total value of $194,712.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 3,135 shares in the company, valued at $642,549.60. This trade represents a 23.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.51% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Assurant Stock Performance

Shares of AIZ traded down $2.97 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $209.53. The stock had a trading volume of 470,998 shares, compared to its average volume of 446,130. The company has a market cap of $10.57 billion, a PE ratio of 15.17 and a beta of 0.58. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $194.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $198.91. 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 fifty-two week low of $174.97 and a fifty-two week high of $230.55.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $5.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $1.13. Assurant had a return on equity of 16.47% and a net margin of 5.83%. The company had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.77 EPS. The business's revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Assurant's payout ratio is 23.17%.

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.