Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) Shares Sold by Berger Financial Group Inc

Berger Financial Group Inc reduced its stake in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 2.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 35,829 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,002 shares during the period. Berger Financial Group Inc owned 0.07% of Assurant worth $4,504,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Assurant by 11.5% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 6,180 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,124,000 after buying an additional 639 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Assurant during the first quarter worth approximately $211,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Assurant by 23.1% during the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 15,499 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,818,000 after buying an additional 2,912 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Assurant by 17.5% during the first quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,005 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,092,000 after buying an additional 896 shares during the period. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS boosted its position in shares of Assurant by 6.6% during the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 7,624 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,386,000 after buying an additional 472 shares during the period. 93.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on AIZ shares. StockNews.com started coverage on Assurant in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Assurant from $180.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 3rd. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Assurant from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 2nd. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Assurant from $166.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 9th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Assurant currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $157.00.

Assurant Price Performance

AIZ traded down $2.08 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $160.99. The stock had a trading volume of 47,496 shares, compared to its average volume of 389,788. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Assurant, Inc. has a 1-year low of $104.49 and a 1-year high of $167.81. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $148.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $137.25.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 1st. The financial services provider reported $4.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $1.81. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.70 billion. Assurant had a return on equity of 17.35% and a net margin of 4.89%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.01 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Assurant, Inc. will post 14.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 27th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 24th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.79%. This is a boost from Assurant’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.48%.

Assurant declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, November 9th that authorizes the company to repurchase $600.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 7.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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 products and related services for consumer electronics and appliances, and credit and other insurance products; and vehicle protection, leased and financed solutions, and other related services.