Bank of Montreal Can Buys 1,483 Shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 42,995 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,483 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in Assurant were worth $7,283,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new stake in shares of Assurant during the fourth quarter worth about $611,000. UBS Group AG increased its position in Assurant by 48.5% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 58,172 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,801,000 after acquiring an additional 18,992 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Assurant by 255.6% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 10,255 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,728,000 after acquiring an additional 7,371 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its stake in shares of Assurant by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 24,207 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,079,000 after acquiring an additional 981 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TFO Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Assurant during the fourth quarter worth $168,000. 92.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Assurant

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AIZ has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group raised their target price on Assurant from $217.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Piper Sandler downgraded Assurant from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Bank of America reduced their target price on Assurant from $223.00 to $222.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 11th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Assurant from $186.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Assurant presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $209.00.

Assurant Stock Performance

Shares of Assurant stock opened at $198.90 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $186.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $178.01. Assurant, Inc. has a one year low of $141.83 and a one year high of $201.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.88, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.57.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.58 by $0.50. Assurant had a return on equity of 19.63% and a net margin of 6.90%. The company had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.89 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.89 earnings per share. Assurant’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.