Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) Major Shareholder Sells $55,944.45 in Stock

Key Points

• Major shareholder Guaranty Ltd Assured sold 3,195 shares of Assured Guaranty stock for $55,944.45 on October 13th, reducing their ownership by 0.06% to approximately 5.29 million shares.
• Assured Guaranty's stock price increased by 1.5%, reaching $82.29, with a market capitalization of $3.92 billion and a P/E ratio of 9.09.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.34 per share, translating to an annualized yield of 1.7%, with a payout ratio of 15.03%.

Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO - Get Free Report) major shareholder Guaranty Ltd Assured sold 3,195 shares of Assured Guaranty stock in a transaction on Monday, October 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.51, for a total value of $55,944.45. Following the transaction, the insider owned 5,290,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $92,636,287.29. This represents a 0.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Large shareholders that own more than 10% of a company's stock are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

Guaranty Ltd Assured also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, October 14th, Guaranty Ltd Assured sold 1,227 shares of Assured Guaranty stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.38, for a total value of $21,325.26.
• On Thursday, October 9th, Guaranty Ltd Assured sold 3,409 shares of Assured Guaranty stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.78, for a total value of $60,612.02.

Assured Guaranty Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of AGO stock traded up $1.18 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $82.29. 186,650 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 321,555. The business's fifty day moving average is $82.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $84.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a 12-month low of $74.09 and a 12-month high of $96.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.09 and a beta of 0.92.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.57 by ($0.56). Assured Guaranty had a net margin of 44.53% and a return on equity of 7.18%. The firm had revenue of $281.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $203.91 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.44 earnings per share. Assured Guaranty's revenue was up 39.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 7.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assured Guaranty Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. Assured Guaranty's payout ratio is currently 15.03%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Assured Guaranty

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Assured Guaranty by 34.7% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,665 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $226,000 after buying an additional 686 shares during the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new position in shares of Assured Guaranty in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $613,000. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Assured Guaranty in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $430,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Assured Guaranty by 93.8% in the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 16,882 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,470,000 after acquiring an additional 8,171 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its stake in shares of Assured Guaranty by 12.9% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,764 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $154,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. 92.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on AGO shares. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Assured Guaranty from $95.00 to $92.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Assured Guaranty from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Zacks Research raised shares of Assured Guaranty from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Assured Guaranty in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Assured Guaranty presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $98.50.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.