Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) Reaches New 12-Month High Following Dividend Announcement

Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday after the company announced a dividend. The stock traded as high as $222.67 and last traded at $221.84, with a volume of 25673 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $219.17.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This is a positive change from Assurant’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Assurant from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Assurant from $200.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Assurant from $194.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Assurant from $228.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Assurant currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $225.20.

Assurant Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The company has a market cap of $11.33 billion, a PE ratio of 15.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.57. The business’s fifty day moving average is $198.15 and its 200-day moving average is $183.47.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.48. Assurant had a net margin of 6.31% and a return on equity of 17.42%. The business had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.29 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Assurant, Inc. will post 15.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Assurant

In related news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.18, for a total value of $627,540.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 20,658 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,321,240.44. The trade was a 12.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AIZ. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in Assurant during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Assurant in the second quarter worth about $31,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings 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 worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Assurant by 509.4% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Assurant in the third quarter worth about $42,000. Institutional investors own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

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 contracts and related services for consumer electronics and appliances, and credit and other insurance products; and vehicle protection, commercial equipment, and other related services.