Natixis Has $5.11 Million Stock Holdings in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO)

Natixis raised its position in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO - Free Report) by 109.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 56,735 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 29,702 shares during the period. Natixis owned about 0.11% of Assured Guaranty worth $5,107,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Assured Guaranty by 214.0% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 24,879 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,980,000 after buying an additional 16,956 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its position in Assured Guaranty by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 719,249 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $64,740,000 after purchasing an additional 66,487 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Assured Guaranty during the 4th quarter valued at $250,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Assured Guaranty in the 4th quarter worth $2,367,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Assured Guaranty during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,060,000. 92.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Assured Guaranty Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:AGO traded up $0.29 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $86.83. 280,404 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 350,997. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $85.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $88.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a twelve month low of $72.57 and a twelve month high of $96.50. The company has a market cap of $4.34 billion, a PE ratio of 6.75 and a beta of 0.84.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.34 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $199.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $199.56 million. Assured Guaranty had a return on equity of 11.58% and a net margin of 70.37%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 7.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assured Guaranty Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were given a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. This is a positive change from Assured Guaranty's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.57%. Assured Guaranty's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.94%.

About Assured Guaranty

Assured Guaranty Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, provides credit protection products to public finance, infrastructure, and structured finance markets in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments: Insurance and Asset Management. The company offers financial guaranty insurance that protects holders of debt instruments and other monetary obligations from defaults in scheduled payments.