ProShare Advisors LLC Increases Stake in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 2.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,829 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 502 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Assurant were worth $2,964,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Assurant in the second quarter worth $31,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Assurant by 62.1% in the second quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 201 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Assurant in the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Assurant during the fourth quarter valued at about $51,000. Finally, Family Firm Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Assurant during the second quarter worth about $51,000. Institutional investors own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Assurant

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Piper Sandler lowered Assurant from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Bank of America dropped their price target on Assurant from $223.00 to $222.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Assurant from $186.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Assurant from $217.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $209.00.

Assurant Stock Performance

Shares of AIZ stock opened at $199.00 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $185.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $177.76. The stock has a market cap of $10.35 billion, a PE ratio of 13.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Assurant, Inc. has a 12 month low of $141.83 and a 12 month high of $200.00.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last posted 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. Assurant had a net margin of 6.90% and a return on equity of 19.63%. The business had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.89 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.89 earnings per share. Assurant’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 3rd. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.10%.

About Assurant

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.