D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Cuts Position in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. cut its stake in shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO - Free Report) by 9.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 118,341 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 13,018 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned 0.23% of Assured Guaranty worth $10,652,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Assured Guaranty in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Assured Guaranty by 46.3% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 471 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Assured Guaranty by 100.6% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 684 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in Assured Guaranty by 108.2% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 816 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Assured Guaranty in the fourth quarter worth approximately $97,000. 92.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Laura Bieling sold 2,649 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.76, for a total value of $232,476.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 13,462 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,181,425.12. This trade represents a 16.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 5.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Assured Guaranty Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE:AGO traded down $0.16 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $86.37. The stock had a trading volume of 302,038 shares, compared to its average volume of 345,472. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market capitalization of $4.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.71 and a beta of 0.82. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $85.36 and a 200 day moving average of $88.47. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a one year low of $72.57 and a one year high of $96.50.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $3.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $345.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $257.96 million. Assured Guaranty had a return on equity of 11.58% and a net margin of 70.37%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.96 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 7.3 EPS for the current year.

Assured Guaranty Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.57%. Assured Guaranty's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.25%.

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.