Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) Sets New 52-Week High Following Dividend Announcement

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

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This is a positive change from Assurant’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Assurant from $200.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group lifted their target price on Assurant from $217.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Assurant from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Assurant from $228.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Assurant from $194.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $225.20.

Assurant Trading Up 2.0 %

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 firm has a market capitalization of $11.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.57. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $198.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $183.73.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. Assurant had a net margin of 6.31% and a return on equity of 17.42%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.29 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Assurant, Inc. will post 15.05 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Assurant news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.18, for a total value of $627,540.00. Following the completion of 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in shares of Assurant by 35.7% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 346 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its position in Assurant by 84.3% during the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 6,282 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,182,000 after purchasing an additional 2,874 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in Assurant by 3,412.0% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 14,645 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,757,000 after purchasing an additional 14,228 shares in the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Assurant in the 1st quarter worth about $212,000. Finally, SVB Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Assurant during the 1st quarter valued at about $321,000. 92.65% of the stock is 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 contracts and related services for consumer electronics and appliances, and credit and other insurance products; and vehicle protection, commercial equipment, and other related services.