DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Has $1.53 Million Position in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its position in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 36.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,140 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,442 shares during the quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale’s holdings in Assurant were worth $1,528,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AIZ. Achmea Investment Management B.V. acquired a new position in shares of Assurant in the second quarter valued at about $629,000. Forsta AP Fonden bought a new stake in Assurant in the 2nd quarter valued at about $732,000. Qsemble Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Assurant during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $433,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Assurant by 1.4% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 24,905 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,140,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the period. Finally, AGF Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of Assurant by 11.3% in the second quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 13,960 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,321,000 after buying an additional 1,418 shares in the last quarter. 92.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group increased their price target on Assurant from $210.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted 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. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Assurant from $223.00 to $222.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. StockNews.com raised shares of Assurant from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Assurant from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $207.60.

Assurant Stock Performance

NYSE:AIZ opened at $194.02 on Friday. Assurant, Inc. has a twelve month low of $141.19 and a twelve month high of $199.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $183.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $177.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.09 billion, a PE ratio of 13.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.57.

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

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be paid 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 dividend yield of 1.48%. Assurant’s payout ratio is presently 20.10%.

Insider Transactions at Assurant

In related news, 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 transaction of $267,195.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $717,329.51. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 550 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.44, for a total transaction of $103,642.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $593,962.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Martin Jenns sold 1,500 shares of Assurant 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,027 shares in the company, valued at $717,329.51. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

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.