Vanguard Group Inc. cut its holdings in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) by 0.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,686,485 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 49,524 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 13.14% of Assurant worth $1,402,490,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Assurant by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,224 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,725,000 after purchasing an additional 451 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Assurant during the first quarter valued at about $5,649,000. Blueshift Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Assurant in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,132,000. Hartford Investment Management Co. grew its position in shares of Assurant by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co. now owns 4,496 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $943,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in shares of Assurant by 18.4% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,325 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $278,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. 92.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Assurant Stock Performance
NYSE:AIZ traded up $4.38 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $213.80. 472,888 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 490,862. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.48 and a beta of 0.58. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $174.97 and a 52-week high of $230.55. The company's 50 day moving average price is $194.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $199.26.
Assurant (NYSE:AIZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $5.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $1.13. The company had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.13 billion. Assurant had a return on equity of 16.47% and a net margin of 5.83%. Assurant's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.77 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 earnings per share for the current year.
Assurant Announces Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th were paid a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 9th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. Assurant's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.17%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AIZ. Stephens started coverage on shares of Assurant in a research note on Tuesday. They set an "overweight" rating on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Assurant from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. Benchmark initiated coverage on shares of Assurant in a report on Tuesday. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Assurant from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, 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 report on Monday, July 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $231.57.
Read Our Latest Analysis on Assurant
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, 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 transaction of $194,712.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 3,135 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $642,549.60. The trade was a 23.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Jay Rosenblum sold 3,900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.53, for a total transaction of $813,267.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 7,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,642,173.75. The trade was a 33.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,850 shares of company stock worth $1,209,909 in the last three months. 0.51% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Assurant Company Profile
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Free Report)
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.
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