National Bank of Canada FI Buys 14,684 Shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Key Points

• National Bank of Canada FI significantly increased its stake in Assurant, Inc. by 61.8% to 38,437 shares, worth approximately $8.06 million.
• Analysts have set new price targets for Assurant, with Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raising their target from $225.00 to $235.00, contributing to an average target price of $231.57.
• Assurant reported strong earnings, with $5.56 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates and indicating an 8.0% revenue increase year-over-year.

National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) by 61.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 38,437 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 14,684 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI owned about 0.08% of Assurant worth $8,062,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Assurant by 12.0% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 79,289 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $16,631,000 after acquiring an additional 8,478 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its position in shares of Assurant by 192.2% during the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 149 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Assurant by 14.2% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 6,163 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,271,000 after acquiring an additional 766 shares during the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Assurant by 49.1% during the 1st quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 10,187 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,137,000 after acquiring an additional 3,356 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Assurant by 35.6% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,034 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,287,000 after acquiring an additional 1,584 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.65% of the company's stock.

Assurant Stock Down 0.1%

NYSE:AIZ traded down $0.12 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $212.81. The company's stock had a trading volume of 578,289 shares, compared to its average volume of 435,513. The company has a market cap of $10.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.41 and a beta of 0.58. Assurant, Inc. has a one year low of $174.97 and a one year high of $230.55. The business's 50-day moving average is $194.56 and its 200-day moving average is $199.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.40.

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

Assurant Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. Assurant's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.17%.

Insider Activity

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Assurant from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Assurant from $217.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Benchmark initiated coverage on shares of Assurant in a research note on Tuesday. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Assurant in a research note on Tuesday. They set an "outperform" rating and a $238.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Assurant in a research note on Tuesday. They set an "overweight" rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.