Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) Shares Purchased by Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 0.2% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 449,029 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,061 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Assurant were worth $94,184,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Assurant by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,558 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,612,000 after buying an additional 841 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Assurant by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 97,413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,770,000 after acquiring an additional 15,218 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Assurant by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 8,826 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,848,000 after acquiring an additional 721 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Assurant in the 4th quarter valued at $8,763,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Assurant in the 4th quarter valued at $3,810,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Assurant

In other Assurant news, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 950 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.96, for a total transaction of $194,712.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 3,135 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $642,549.60. The trade was a 23.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jay Rosenblum sold 1,000 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.93, for a total transaction of $201,930.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 11,775 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,377,725.75. This trade represents a 7.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Assurant Price Performance

Assurant stock opened at $209.37 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $193.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $199.15. Assurant, Inc. has a 1 year low of $174.97 and a 1 year high of $230.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.16 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.40.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $5.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $1.13. Assurant had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 16.47%. The company had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.13 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.77 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th were paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 9th. Assurant’s payout ratio is 23.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Assurant in a report on Tuesday. They issued an “overweight” rating on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Assurant from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Assurant from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Assurant in a research note on Tuesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $238.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Benchmark began coverage on shares of Assurant in a research note on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $231.57.

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.