Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Invests $688,000 in Assurant, Inc. $AIZ

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new stake in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 2,563 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $688,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Assurant during the 2nd quarter worth $1,345,211,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Assurant during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,269,591,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Assurant during the 4th quarter worth approximately $161,574,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in shares of Assurant during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $76,718,000. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 209,300 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Robert Lonergan sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.71, for a total transaction of $1,838,970.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 27,374 shares in the company, valued at $7,191,423.54. This represents a 20.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nair Biju sold 3,931 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 24,247 shares in the company, valued at $7,333,747.62. This represents a 13.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on AIZ. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Assurant from $274.00 to $331.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Assurant from $290.00 to $329.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Truist Financial raised 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Assurant from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Assurant from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Assurant presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $316.57.

Assurant Price Performance

AIZ stock opened at $288.56 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $14.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.78 and a beta of 0.55. 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 has a 50-day simple moving average of $277.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $248.73.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The financial services provider reported $6.41 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.17 by $1.24. The firm 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%.Assurant’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.56 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Assurant, Inc. will post 22.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

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

Assurant 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.