Bank of New York Mellon Corp Reduces Holdings in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp reduced its stake in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 0.1% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,123,549 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,667 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in Assurant were worth $353,040,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lyrical Asset Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Assurant by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Lyrical Asset Management LP now owns 783,257 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $131,971,000 after acquiring an additional 15,074 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Assurant by 23.4% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 737,099 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $124,194,000 after purchasing an additional 139,680 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Assurant in the fourth quarter worth $108,253,000. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its position in Assurant by 7.8% during the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 470,102 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $88,492,000 after buying an additional 34,070 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Assurant by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 443,409 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $74,710,000 after buying an additional 4,394 shares during the period. 92.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Assurant

In other news, EVP Martin Jenns sold 1,500 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.13, for a total transaction of $267,195.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,027 shares in the company, valued at approximately $717,329.51. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Martin Jenns sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.13, for a total value of $267,195.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $717,329.51. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 550 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.44, for a total value of $103,642.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $593,962.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Assurant Stock Down 0.1 %

AIZ opened at $192.78 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.45, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $173.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $175.03. Assurant, Inc. has a twelve month low of $136.15 and a twelve month high of $194.74.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.58 by $0.50. The company had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.89 billion. Assurant had a return on equity of 20.08% and a net margin of 6.73%. Assurant’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.89 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AIZ. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Assurant from $186.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Assurant from $210.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. StockNews.com raised Assurant from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Bank of America lowered their price target on Assurant from $223.00 to $222.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut shares of Assurant from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Assurant currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $207.60.

Assurant 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.