Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Makes New $3.85 Million Investment in Assurant, Inc. $AIZ

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. bought a new stake in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 14,327 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,847,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC acquired a new position in shares of Assurant in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Assurant during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. BOKF NA acquired a new stake in shares of Assurant during the third quarter worth $32,000. Western Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Assurant in the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC grew its position in Assurant by 81.4% in the 2nd quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 127 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. 92.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Robert Lonergan sold 7,000 shares of the firm’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 owned 27,374 shares in the company, valued at $7,191,423.54. This trade represents a 20.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nair Biju sold 3,931 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.46, for a total value of $1,188,970.26. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 24,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,333,747.62. This trade represents a 13.95% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on AIZ shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Assurant from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Assurant from $310.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Assurant from $290.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Assurant from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $316.57.

Assurant Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AIZ opened at $287.56 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.73 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.38. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $276.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $248.10. Assurant, Inc. has a 12 month low of $205.01 and a 12 month high of $303.94.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $3.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.43 billion. Assurant had a return on equity of 20.40% and a net margin of 7.90%.Assurant’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.56 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Assurant, Inc. will post 22.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

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