Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd Has $491,000 Stock Position in Assurant, Inc. $AIZ

Key Points

• Swiss Life Asset Management cut its stake in Assurant by 87.1% in Q3, selling 15,328 shares and leaving it with 2,269 shares valued at about $491,000.
• Analysts are generally positive with 8 Buys and 2 Holds, a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a mean target price of $258.17.
• Assurant recently (EPS $5.61 vs. $5.55; revenue $3.35B vs. $3.28B), pays a quarterly dividend of $0.88 (annualized $3.52, yield 1.6%), and insiders sold 2,650 shares in the past 90 days.

Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd reduced its position in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) by 87.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,269 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 15,328 shares during the period. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd's holdings in Assurant were worth $491,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in Assurant by 606.7% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,060 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $222,000 after acquiring an additional 910 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Assurant by 19.6% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 290,759 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $60,987,000 after purchasing an additional 47,548 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new position in shares of Assurant during the 1st quarter worth about $203,000. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its stake in Assurant by 66.6% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 2,648 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $556,000 after purchasing an additional 1,059 shares during the period. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in Assurant by 57.8% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 183 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. 92.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AIZ shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Assurant in a research report on Monday, December 29th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Assurant from $255.00 to $246.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Assurant from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Assurant from $252.00 to $264.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Assurant from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $258.17.

Assurant Stock Performance

Assurant stock opened at $217.30 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.81 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $227.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $224.55. Assurant, Inc. has a 52-week low of $174.97 and a 52-week high of $246.31. 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 (NYSE:AIZ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The financial services provider reported $5.61 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.55 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $3.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.28 billion. Assurant had a net margin of 6.81% and a return on equity of 18.65%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.79 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Assurant

In other news, EVP Subhashish Sengupta sold 1,880 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.53, for a total value of $395,796.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 2,895 shares in the company, valued at approximately $609,484.35. The trade was a 39.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 750 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The stock was 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 directly owned 4,741 shares in the company, valued at $1,000,256.18. The trade was a 13.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 2,650 shares of company stock valued at $558,331. Company insiders own 0.51% of the company's stock.

Assurant 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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