Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 810 Shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 67,943 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 810 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Assurant were worth $11,296,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Assurant in the 4th quarter valued at $108,253,000. AMF Tjanstepension AB acquired a new stake in shares of Assurant in the 1st quarter valued at $39,013,000. Gillson Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Assurant in the 4th quarter worth about $27,013,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Ossiam bought a new position in Assurant during the 4th quarter valued at about $14,764,000. 92.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Martin Jenns sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.13, for a total transaction of $267,195.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $717,329.51. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 550 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.44, for a total value 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. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Martin Jenns sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.13, for a total value of $267,195.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,027 shares in the company, valued at $717,329.51. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Assurant Stock Performance

AIZ stock opened at $192.55 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $178.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $176.41. Assurant, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $136.88 and a fifty-two week high of $199.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.01 billion, a PE ratio of 13.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.54.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last released its earnings results 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. Assurant had a return on equity of 19.63% and a net margin of 6.90%. The company had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.89 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.89 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.54 EPS for the current year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.50%. Assurant’s payout ratio is presently 20.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler cut shares of Assurant from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. 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 report on Thursday, July 11th. StockNews.com cut Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 2nd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Assurant from $210.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Assurant from $186.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $207.60.

Assurant 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.