Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) Stock Price Target Lowered at Morgan Stanley

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) had its price objective lowered by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $320.00 to $300.00 in a report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price indicates a potential upside of 11.70% from the company’s current price.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on AIZ. UBS Group boosted their target price on Assurant from $274.00 to $331.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Weiss Ratings raised Assurant from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Assurant from $310.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Assurant from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Assurant from $274.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and six have issued a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $324.29.

Assurant Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE AIZ traded up $2.17 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $268.58. The company had a trading volume of 86,905 shares, compared to its average volume of 394,284. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $280.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $259.18. Assurant has a 52-week low of $206.03 and a 52-week high of $303.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market cap of $13.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.82 and a beta of 0.52.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The financial services provider reported $6.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.17 by $1.24. Assurant had a net margin of 7.90% and a return on equity of 20.40%. The firm had revenue of $3.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.56 earnings per share. Assurant’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Assurant will post 22.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Assurant

In other Assurant news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,931 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.46, for a total transaction of $1,188,970.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 24,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,333,747.62. This represents a 13.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Assurant

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Assurant in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,345,211,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Assurant during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,269,591,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Assurant during the 2nd quarter valued at about $269,635,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in Assurant during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $76,718,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Assurant by 22.4% during 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 acquiring an additional 205,767 shares in the last quarter. 92.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Assurant Company Profile

Assurant, Inc is a global business services company that provides insurance products and related services supporting major purchases and everyday needs. Its offerings are distributed through partnerships with mobile carriers, retailers, automotive manufacturers and dealers, financial institutions, housing providers, and other businesses.

Through its Global Lifestyle business, Assurant provides mobile device protection, extended service contracts, vehicle service contracts, and related protection products.