Legal & General Group Plc Makes New Investment in Assurant, Inc. $AIZ

Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 78,597 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $21,106,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.16% of Assurant as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC bought a new stake in shares of Assurant in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Assurant during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. BOKF NA bought a new position in Assurant during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Western Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Assurant during the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC boosted its position in Assurant by 81.4% in the second quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 127 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 25th. UBS Group lifted their target price 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. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Assurant from $290.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Assurant from $274.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Assurant from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $327.14.

Assurant Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE AIZ opened at $285.69 on Friday. Assurant, Inc. has a 12-month low of $205.01 and a 12-month high of $303.94. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $278.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $249.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a market cap of $14.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.64 and a beta of 0.55.

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

Assurant Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be given a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 31st. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.81%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Assurant

In other news, 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 completion of 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Robert Lonergan sold 7,000 shares of the business’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 sale, the executive vice president owned 27,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,191,423.54. The trade was a 20.36% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.