Hsbc Holdings PLC Reduces Holdings in Assurant, Inc. $AIZ

Hsbc Holdings PLC lowered its position in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 8.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 72,632 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,859 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned about 0.15% of Assurant worth $15,806,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its stake in Assurant by 0.9% in the first quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 5,739 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,250,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Assurant during the first quarter valued at $346,000. Praxis Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Assurant in the first quarter worth about $294,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Assurant by 18.7% in the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,665 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,234,000 after purchasing an additional 894 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in Assurant in the 1st quarter worth about $3,534,000. Institutional investors own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Assurant Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of Assurant stock opened at $273.34 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.39. Assurant, Inc. has a 1 year low of $183.39 and a 1 year high of $284.12. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $263.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $240.63. The stock has a market cap of $13.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.98 and a beta of 0.55.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $5.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.29 by $0.66. Assurant had a net margin of 7.60% and a return on equity of 20.32%. The business had revenue of $3.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.29 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.79 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Assurant, Inc. will post 21.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th were issued a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 8th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AIZ. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Assurant from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Assurant from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Assurant from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Assurant in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Assurant from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $291.43.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Robert Lonergan sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 27,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,191,423.54. The trade was a 20.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Keith Meier sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.31, for a total value of $6,357,750.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 18,552 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,717,959.12. The trade was a 57.40% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 36,000 shares of company stock valued at $9,211,620. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Assurant Company Profile

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.