Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) Price Target Raised to $248.00

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) had its price target upped by Morgan Stanley from $232.00 to $248.00 in a research note released on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. Truist Financial set a $255.00 price objective on Assurant in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Assurant in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. They set an “overweight” rating on the stock. Benchmark initiated coverage on shares of Assurant in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Assurant in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Assurant from $255.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $246.83.

Assurant Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE AIZ opened at $224.86 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.26 billion, a PE ratio of 16.28 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $215.83 and a 200-day moving average of $205.30. Assurant has a 52-week low of $174.97 and a 52-week high of $232.02.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.80 earnings per share for the quarter. Assurant had a return on equity of 16.47% and a net margin of 5.83%.The business had revenue of $2.42 billion for the quarter. Assurant has set its FY 2022 guidance at $13.062-$13.512 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Assurant will post 16.88 EPS for the current year.

Assurant Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 29th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 1st. This is a positive change from Assurant’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Assurant news, CEO Keith Demmings sold 13,725 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.52, for a total value of $3,026,637.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 84,647 shares in the company, valued at $18,666,356.44. The trade was a 13.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 22,275 shares of company stock valued at $4,909,946. Insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Assurant

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Assurant by 12.4% in the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $531,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in shares of Assurant in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,451,000. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new position in shares of Assurant during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $172,000. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Assurant during the third quarter worth approximately $215,000. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Assurant by 9.6% during the third quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 50,693 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,980,000 after buying an additional 4,446 shares in the last quarter. 92.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.