Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) Given New $240.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) had its price target decreased by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $248.00 to $240.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price indicates a potential upside of 10.89% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on AIZ. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Assurant from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Assurant from $252.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Assurant from $255.00 to $246.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Assurant in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $256.83.

Assurant Trading Down 0.8%

AIZ stock traded down $1.84 on Monday, hitting $216.42. 17,439 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 390,010. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.76 and a beta of 0.56. Assurant has a twelve month low of $174.97 and a twelve month high of $246.31. The business’s fifty day moving average is $224.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $224.91.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The financial services provider reported $5.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.55 by $0.06. Assurant had a net margin of 6.81% and a return on equity of 18.65%. The company had revenue of $3.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $4.79 EPS. Assurant’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Assurant will post 16.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Assurant news, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.98, for a total value of $158,235.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,000,256.18. This trade represents a 13.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Subhashish Sengupta sold 1,880 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.53, for a total value of $395,796.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 2,895 shares in the company, valued at approximately $609,484.35. This represents a 39.37% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 2,650 shares of company stock worth $558,331 over the last three months. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Assurant

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ascent Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Assurant by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 5,339 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,286,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Assurant by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 17,064 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,110,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its stake in shares of Assurant by 0.3% in the third quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 15,917 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,448,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Assurant by 72.6% in the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Finally, Cresset Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Assurant by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 1,075 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $212,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.65% 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.