Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. Makes New Investment in Assurant, Inc. $AIZ

Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. purchased a new stake in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 3,880 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,042,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AIZ. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Assurant by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,040,347 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,213,968,000 after buying an additional 29,974 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Assurant by 22.4% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,125,406 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $245,121,000 after buying an additional 205,767 shares during the period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Assurant by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 697,555 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $168,006,000 after acquiring an additional 49,698 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Assurant in the fourth quarter valued at $161,574,000. Finally, Morgan Stanley grew its position in Assurant by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 640,431 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $154,248,000 after acquiring an additional 31,432 shares during the period. 92.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Assurant Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE AIZ opened at $282.76 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.38. Assurant, Inc. has a 1 year low of $205.01 and a 1 year high of $303.94. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $273.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $246.25. The firm has a market cap of $13.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.50 and a beta of 0.55.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The financial services provider reported $6.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.17 by $1.24. The company had revenue of $3.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.43 billion. Assurant had a return on equity of 20.40% and a net margin of 7.90%.Assurant’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.56 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Assurant, Inc. will post 21.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 31st. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio is 16.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on AIZ shares. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Assurant from $290.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Assurant from $310.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $310.00 price target on shares of Assurant in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Assurant from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Assurant from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Assurant presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $313.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Robert Lonergan sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.71, for a total value of $1,838,970.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 27,374 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,191,423.54. This represents a 20.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nair Biju sold 3,931 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.46, for a total transaction of $1,188,970.26. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 24,247 shares in the company, valued at $7,333,747.62. The trade was a 13.95% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 12,931 shares of company stock valued at $3,539,300 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

About Assurant

Assurant, Inc is a global provider of risk management products and services, specializing in the housing and lifestyle markets. The company offers insurance and related products designed to help consumers protect their homes, personal belongings, and electronic devices. Its core offerings include renters insurance, manufactured housing finance, flood insurance, mobile device protection plans, and extended service contracts for appliances and electronics.

Within its Global Housing segment, Assurant partners with mortgage lenders, financial institutions and government agencies to deliver specialty insurance and risk mitigation services.