Morgan Stanley Issues Positive Forecast for Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) Stock Price

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley has increased its price target for Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) from $230.00 to $232.00, suggesting a potential upside of 4.76% from the previous close.
• Assurant's latest quarterly earnings reported an EPS of $5.56, exceeding analysts' expectations of $4.43, and revenue increased by 8.0% year-over-year to $3.16 billion.
• Insider selling is evident, with CAO Dimitry Dirienzo and CEO Keith Demmings both reducing their stock holdings earlier this month, reflecting a trend among company insiders.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ - Get Free Report) had its price objective boosted by Morgan Stanley from $230.00 to $232.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "equal weight" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Morgan Stanley's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 4.76% from the company's previous close.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on AIZ. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Assurant in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Stephens assumed coverage on Assurant in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. They issued an "overweight" rating on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded Assurant from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Assurant in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $238.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Assurant from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $235.17.

Assurant Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of Assurant stock traded down $0.23 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $221.46. The stock had a trading volume of 33,892 shares, compared to its average volume of 466,740. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $209.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $200.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.05 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Assurant has a 1 year low of $174.97 and a 1 year high of $230.55.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $5.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.43 by $1.13. The company had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.13 billion. Assurant had a return on equity of 16.47% and a net margin of 5.83%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.77 EPS. Assurant has set its FY 2025 guidance at 22.390-22.390 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Assurant will post 16.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Assurant

In other Assurant news, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 950 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.96, for a total transaction of $194,712.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 3,135 shares in the company, valued at $642,549.60. This trade represents a 23.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Keith Demmings sold 13,725 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.52, for a total value of $3,026,637.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 84,647 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,666,356.44. This trade represents a 13.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 27,125 shares of company stock worth $5,917,925 in the last 90 days. 0.51% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Assurant

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 8,478 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA grew its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Assurant by 14.2% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 6,163 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,271,000 after acquiring an additional 766 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in shares of Assurant by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 354,501 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $74,357,000 after acquiring an additional 24,153 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Assurant by 49.1% in the 1st quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 10,187 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,137,000 after acquiring an additional 3,356 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.65% of the company's stock.

About Assurant

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.