Piper Sandler Increases Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) Price Target to $217.00

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) had its price target upped by Piper Sandler from $200.00 to $217.00 in a research note published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the company. StockNews.com lowered Assurant from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Assurant from $223.00 to $222.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Assurant from $186.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Assurant from $217.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Assurant has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $212.40.

Assurant Stock Performance

NYSE AIZ opened at $197.58 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $189.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $178.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.40. Assurant has a fifty-two week low of $144.54 and a fifty-two week high of $201.55.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.58 by $0.50. The company had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.89 billion. Assurant had a return on equity of 19.63% and a net margin of 6.90%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.89 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Assurant will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. Assurant’s payout ratio is 20.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 550 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.44, for a total transaction of $103,642.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $593,962.88. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 550 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.44, for a total transaction of $103,642.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $593,962.88. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Martin Jenns sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.13, for a total value of $267,195.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,027 shares in the company, valued at approximately $717,329.51. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Assurant

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Assurant by 32.5% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,041,678 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $173,179,000 after purchasing an additional 255,471 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Assurant by 23.4% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 737,099 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $124,194,000 after purchasing an additional 139,680 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Assurant by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 698,677 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $116,159,000 after purchasing an additional 12,935 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in Assurant by 20.4% during the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 566,123 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $94,118,000 after purchasing an additional 96,021 shares during the period. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Assurant by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 383,549 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $63,765,000 after acquiring an additional 2,700 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.