Balyasny Asset Management L.P. Sells 38,279 Shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO)

Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lowered its holdings in shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO - Free Report) by 68.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 17,854 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 38,279 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P.'s holdings in Assured Guaranty were worth $1,607,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AGO. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Assured Guaranty during the 4th quarter valued at $50,447,000. River Road Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Assured Guaranty by 67.4% in the 4th quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 1,116,131 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $100,463,000 after purchasing an additional 449,310 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Assured Guaranty in the 4th quarter worth about $28,060,000. Boston Partners lifted its position in shares of Assured Guaranty by 46.0% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 806,821 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $72,904,000 after purchasing an additional 254,063 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Assured Guaranty by 89.0% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 488,895 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $44,005,000 after purchasing an additional 230,258 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.22% of the company's stock.

Assured Guaranty Stock Performance

NYSE:AGO opened at $87.40 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $85.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $88.45. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a 12 month low of $72.57 and a 12 month high of $96.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market cap of $4.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.79 and a beta of 0.82.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $3.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.03. Assured Guaranty had a net margin of 70.37% and a return on equity of 11.58%. The company had revenue of $345.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $257.96 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.96 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 7.3 EPS for the current year.

Assured Guaranty Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.56%. Assured Guaranty's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.25%.

Assured Guaranty Company Profile

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.

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