Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) CAO Dimitry Dirienzo Sells 750 Shares

Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.98, for a total transaction of $158,235.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,000,256.18. This trade represents a 13.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Assurant Trading Up 2.1%

NYSE AIZ traded up $4.42 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $217.23. 317,507 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 412,750. The stock has a market cap of $10.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.80 and a beta of 0.58. 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 one year low of $174.97 and a one year high of $246.31. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $228.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $224.50.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The financial services provider reported $5.61 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.55 by $0.06. Assurant had a net margin of 6.81% and a return on equity of 18.65%. The business had revenue of $3.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.79 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 EPS for the current year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AIZ has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Assurant from $255.00 to $246.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Assurant in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Assurant from $252.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Assurant from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $258.17.

Institutional Trading of Assurant

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AIZ. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Assurant by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,775,234 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,338,041,000 after buying an additional 88,749 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Assurant by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,040,347 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,213,968,000 after acquiring an additional 29,974 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Assurant by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 919,639 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $221,500,000 after acquiring an additional 57,139 shares in the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Assurant by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 697,555 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $168,006,000 after acquiring an additional 49,698 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Assurant during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $161,574,000. 92.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.