Brokerages Set Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) Price Target at $234.17

Shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $234.17.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AIZ. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Assurant from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Assurant from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $212.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Assurant in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $251.00 price objective for the company.

Insider Activity at Assurant

In other Assurant news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.50, for a total value of $604,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,568,162. The trade was a 14.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Assurant

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in Assurant by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 9,021 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,794,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Assurant by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 7,773 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,657,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its stake in shares of Assurant by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 159,880 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,794,000 after purchasing an additional 6,756 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Assurant by 28.6% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 845 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $168,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Assurant by 17.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 171,370 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,079,000 after purchasing an additional 24,887 shares during the period. 92.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Assurant Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of Assurant stock opened at $206.83 on Tuesday. Assurant has a 52-week low of $160.12 and a 52-week high of $230.55. The company has a 50 day moving average of $208.65 and a 200 day moving average of $206.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company has a market capitalization of $10.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.29 and a beta of 0.61.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $4.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.96 by $0.83. Assurant had a net margin of 6.40% and a return on equity of 17.25%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Assurant will post 16.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.11%.

Assurant Company Profile

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.