The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Invests $9.63 Million in Assurant, Inc. $AIZ

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 35,853 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $9,628,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cibc World Market Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Assurant in the 2nd quarter valued at about $559,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Assurant during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $523,000. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. purchased a new position in Assurant in the 2nd quarter valued at $3,847,000. Globeflex Capital L P acquired a new position in shares of Assurant during the second quarter worth about $6,830,000. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia acquired a new stake in shares of Assurant in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $513,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on AIZ shares. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Assurant from $310.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Assurant from $274.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Assurant from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Wall Street Zen cut Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Assurant from $290.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $327.14.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Robert Lonergan sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.71, for a total value of $1,838,970.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 27,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,191,423.54. The trade was a 20.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Nair Biju sold 3,931 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.46, for a total value of $1,188,970.26. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 24,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,333,747.62. This trade represents a 13.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Assurant Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE AIZ opened at $285.69 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $278.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $249.28. The stock has a market cap of $14.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.64 and a beta of 0.55. Assurant, Inc. has a 52 week low of $205.01 and a 52 week high of $303.94.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The financial services provider reported $6.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.17 by $1.24. Assurant had a return on equity of 20.40% and a net margin of 7.90%.The company had revenue of $3.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.43 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.56 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Assurant, Inc. will post 22.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 31st. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.81%.

About Assurant

Assurant, Inc is a global provider of risk management products and services, specializing in the housing and lifestyle markets. The company offers insurance and related products designed to help consumers protect their homes, personal belongings, and electronic devices. Its core offerings include renters insurance, manufactured housing finance, flood insurance, mobile device protection plans, and extended service contracts for appliances and electronics.

Within its Global Housing segment, Assurant partners with mortgage lenders, financial institutions and government agencies to deliver specialty insurance and risk mitigation services.