Assurant, Inc. $AIZ Shares Acquired by Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Key Points

• Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Assurant, Inc. by 5.9%, bringing the total value of their shares to $4.55 million.
• Several other hedge funds, including Zions Bancorporation and Assetmark Inc., also recently acquired or increased their stakes in Assurant during the first quarter of the year.
• Assurant announced a quarterly dividend of $0.80, with an annualized payout of $3.20 and a dividend yield of 1.5%, to be paid on September 29th.

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) by 5.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 21,717 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,218 shares during the quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Assurant were worth $4,547,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new stake in shares of Assurant in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Assurant in the first quarter worth $28,000. Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in Assurant by 192.2% in the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 149 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Assurant by 312.8% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 161 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. lifted its stake in Assurant by 47.3% during the 1st quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 190 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. 92.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Assurant from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Assurant in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $238.00 target price on the stock. Stephens began coverage on Assurant in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. They set an "overweight" rating for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Assurant from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a "cautious" rating on shares of Assurant in a research note on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $233.29.

Insider Transactions at Assurant

In related news, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 950 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Jay Rosenblum sold 3,900 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.53, for a total transaction of $813,267.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 7,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,642,173.75. This trade represents a 33.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Assurant Price Performance

NYSE 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 50 day simple moving average of $194.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $198.91. The company has a market cap of $10.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.17 and a beta of 0.58. Assurant, Inc. has a 52-week low of $174.97 and a 52-week high of $230.55. 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 (NYSE:AIZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $5.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $1.13. The business had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. Assurant had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 16.47%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.77 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

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