Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Has $4.55 Million Stock Holdings in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 5.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,717 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,218 shares during the quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Assurant were worth $4,547,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AIZ. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new stake in shares of Assurant during the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Assurant during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Private Trust Co. NA increased its position in shares of Assurant by 192.2% during the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 149 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of Assurant by 312.8% during the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 161 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. increased its position in shares of Assurant by 47.3% during the 1st quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 190 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 950 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.96, for a total value of $194,712.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 3,135 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $642,549.60. This trade represents a 23.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jay Rosenblum sold 3,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.53, for a total transaction of $813,267.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 7,875 shares in the company, valued at $1,642,173.75. This trade represents a 33.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Assurant in a research report on Tuesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $238.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Assurant from $217.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Assurant from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Assurant from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Assurant in a research report on Tuesday. They issued an “overweight” rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Assurant has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $231.57.

Assurant Trading Down 0.1%

AIZ opened at $212.81 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.74 billion, a PE ratio of 15.41 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Assurant, Inc. has a 1-year low of $174.97 and a 1-year high of $230.55. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $194.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $199.22.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $5.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $1.13. The company had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. Assurant had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 16.47%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.77 EPS. As a group, equities 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 will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.17%.

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.