22,349 Shares in Assurant, Inc. $AIZ Acquired by Jupiter Topco LLC

Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new stake in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 22,349 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,997,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AIZ. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Assurant during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,345,211,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Assurant in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,269,591,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Assurant in the 4th quarter worth approximately $161,574,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in Assurant in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $76,718,000. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its holdings in Assurant by 676.5% in the 4th quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 240,240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $57,862,000 after acquiring an additional 209,300 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AIZ has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Assurant from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Assurant from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Assurant from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen lowered Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Assurant from $274.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. One equities 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 company. According to MarketBeat, Assurant currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $327.14.

Assurant Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of AIZ opened at $282.06 on Tuesday. Assurant, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $205.01 and a fifty-two week high of $303.94. The company’s fifty day moving average is $279.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $249.70. The firm has a market cap of $13.91 billion, a PE ratio of 13.47 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The financial services provider reported $6.41 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.17 by $1.24. The business had revenue of $3.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.43 billion. Assurant had a return on equity of 20.40% and a net margin of 7.90%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.56 EPS. Analysts forecast that Assurant, Inc. will post 22.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be given 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 of this dividend is Monday, August 31st. Assurant’s payout ratio is 16.81%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Nair Biju sold 3,931 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.46, for a total value of $1,188,970.26. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 24,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,333,747.62. The trade was a 13.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Robert Lonergan sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $7,191,423.54. The trade was a 20.36% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Assurant Company Profile

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.