Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. Boosts Stock Holdings in Assurant, Inc. $AIZ

Key Points

• Robeco Institutional Asset Management increased its stake in Assurant by 16.8% in Q4 to 185,949 shares (about $44.8 million), representing roughly 0.37% ownership.
• Assurant beat quarterly expectations with EPS of $5.61 vs. $5.55 consensus and revenue of $3.35 billion (up 7.9% YoY); the company has a market cap of $11.02 billion and a consensus target price of $256.83 with an average rating of Moderate Buy.
• Institutional ownership is high at 92.65%, led by large holders like Bank of New York Mellon (5.01 million shares, ~$1.09 billion). Insiders have recently sold shares (2,650 in the last 90 days), and Assurant pays a $0.88 quarterly dividend (1.6% yield).

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its stake in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) by 16.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 185,949 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 26,678 shares during the quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. owned 0.37% of Assurant worth $44,786,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Assurant by 23.7% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,010,373 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,085,247,000 after acquiring an additional 959,259 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Assurant by 15.1% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 862,500 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $186,808,000 after acquiring an additional 113,235 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of Assurant by 29.3% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 665,683 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $143,588,000 after acquiring an additional 150,907 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Assurant by 10.1% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 612,919 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $132,758,000 after acquiring an additional 56,470 shares during the period. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Assurant by 685.2% during the third quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 452,293 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $97,851,000 after acquiring an additional 394,694 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.65% of the company's stock.

Assurant Stock Performance

NYSE AIZ opened at $221.63 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.39. Assurant, Inc. has a 1 year low of $181.75 and a 1 year high of $246.31. The company has a market capitalization of $11.02 billion, a PE ratio of 13.06 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a fifty day moving average of $222.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $225.28.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The financial services provider reported $5.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.55 by $0.06. Assurant had a net margin of 6.81% and a return on equity of 18.65%. The company had revenue of $3.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.79 earnings per share. Assurant's revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were paid a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. Assurant's dividend payout ratio is currently 20.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Assurant

In other Assurant news, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.98, for a total value of $158,235.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 4,741 shares in the company, valued at $1,000,256.18. This represents a 13.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Subhashish Sengupta sold 1,880 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.53, for a total transaction of $395,796.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 2,895 shares of the company's stock, valued at $609,484.35. This represents a 39.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 2,650 shares of company stock valued at $558,331 in the last 90 days. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AIZ. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Assurant in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Assurant from $248.00 to $240.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered Assurant from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Assurant from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Assurant from $252.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $256.83.

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.

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