Morgan Stanley Cuts Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) Price Target to $240.00

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) had its price target decreased by Morgan Stanley from $248.00 to $240.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

AIZ has been the topic of several other research reports. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Assurant from $255.00 to $246.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Assurant in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Assurant from $252.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Assurant from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $256.83.

Assurant Trading Up 2.4%

Shares of Assurant stock opened at $224.09 on Monday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $223.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $225.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.14 billion, a PE ratio of 13.20 and a beta of 0.56. Assurant has a 1-year low of $176.63 and a 1-year high of $246.31. 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 (NYSE:AIZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The financial services provider reported $5.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.55 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $3.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.28 billion. Assurant had a net margin of 6.81% and a return on equity of 18.65%. The company’s revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.79 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Assurant will post 16.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were paid a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.74%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Assurant news, 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 value of $158,235.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,000,256.18. This represents a 13.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Subhashish Sengupta sold 1,880 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.53, for a total value of $395,796.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 2,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $609,484.35. The trade was a 39.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 2,650 shares of company stock valued at $558,331 in the last quarter. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Assurant

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AIZ. Montag A & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Assurant in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Assurant by 72.6% in the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC purchased a new stake in Assurant in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Assurant by 65.6% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 149 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BOKF NA purchased a new stake in Assurant in the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. 92.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Assurant

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.