Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Cuts Stock Position in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP reduced its position in shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO - Free Report) by 4.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,788,352 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 187,715 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 7.44% of Assured Guaranty worth $340,988,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Assured Guaranty by 46.3% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 471 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Assured Guaranty by 100.6% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 684 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 343 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in Assured Guaranty by 108.2% in the 4th 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. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Assured Guaranty during the 4th quarter worth approximately $97,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in shares of Assured Guaranty by 1,794.9% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,497 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $135,000 after purchasing an additional 1,418 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.22% of the company's stock.

Assured Guaranty Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE AGO traded up $0.29 on Friday, reaching $86.83. 280,404 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 350,997. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $72.57 and a fifty-two week high of $96.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.75 and a beta of 0.84. The business's fifty day moving average price is $85.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $88.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

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

Assured Guaranty Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a $0.34 dividend. This is a positive change from Assured Guaranty's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. Assured Guaranty's dividend payout ratio 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.