Cibc World Market Inc. Invests $559,000 in Assurant, Inc. $AIZ

Cibc World Market Inc. bought a new position in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 2,080 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $559,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC bought a new stake in Assurant during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. bought a new position in Assurant in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. BOKF NA acquired a new position in Assurant in the third quarter worth $32,000. Western Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Assurant in the first quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC grew its holdings in shares of Assurant by 81.4% during the second quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 127 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. 92.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Assurant Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AIZ opened at $285.69 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Assurant, Inc. has a 1-year low of $205.01 and a 1-year high of $303.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.64 and a beta of 0.55. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $278.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $249.28.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The financial services provider reported $6.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.17 by $1.24. The company had revenue of $3.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.43 billion. Assurant had a net margin of 7.90% and a return on equity of 20.40%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.56 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Assurant, Inc. will post 22.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 31st. Assurant’s payout ratio is currently 16.81%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Assurant

In other news, EVP Robert Lonergan sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.71, for a total value of $1,838,970.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 27,374 shares in the company, valued at $7,191,423.54. This trade represents a 20.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Nair Biju sold 3,931 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.46, for a total value of $1,188,970.26. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 24,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,333,747.62. This trade represents a 13.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $310.00 price target on Assurant in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Assurant from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Assurant from $290.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Assurant from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Assurant from $274.00 to $331.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Assurant presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $327.14.

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.