Dimitry Dirienzo Sells 850 Shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) Stock

Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.72, for a total transaction of $136,612.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,654 shares in the company, valued at approximately $747,990.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Assurant Stock Up 0.5 %

AIZ traded up $0.75 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $162.03. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 449,125 shares, compared to its average volume of 391,556. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $149.62 and its 200-day moving average is $137.99. Assurant, Inc. has a 1 year low of $104.49 and a 1 year high of $167.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.41, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 1st. The financial services provider reported $4.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $1.81. Assurant had a return on equity of 17.35% and a net margin of 4.89%. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.01 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Assurant, Inc. will post 14.19 EPS for the current year.

Assurant announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, November 9th that permits the company to buyback $600.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 7.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Assurant Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, November 27th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.78%. This is an increase from Assurant’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 24th. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio is 28.48%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group raised their price target on Assurant from $166.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 9th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Assurant in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Assurant from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 2nd. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Assurant from $180.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 3rd. Six investment 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.

Institutional Trading of Assurant

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Assurant by 11.5% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 6,180 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,124,000 after acquiring an additional 639 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Assurant during the first quarter valued at approximately $211,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its position in Assurant by 23.1% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 15,499 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,818,000 after acquiring an additional 2,912 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Assurant by 17.5% during the 1st quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,005 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,092,000 after acquiring an additional 896 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS boosted its stake in shares of Assurant by 6.6% during the 1st 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 acquiring an additional 472 shares during the last quarter. 93.13% of the stock is currently 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 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.