DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main Trims Stake in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO)

DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lowered its position in shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO - Free Report) by 88.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,265 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 16,683 shares during the period. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main's holdings in Assured Guaranty were worth $204,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in 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 during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Assured Guaranty by 100.6% during 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 during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in Assured Guaranty by 108.2% during 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 during the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Assured Guaranty during the fourth quarter worth about $97,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in shares of Assured Guaranty by 1,794.9% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,497 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $135,000 after acquiring an additional 1,418 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.22% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Assured Guaranty

In other Assured Guaranty news, CAO Laura Bieling sold 2,649 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.76, for a total transaction of $232,476.24. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 13,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,181,425.12. This represents a 16.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 5.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Assured Guaranty Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE AGO traded down $0.16 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $86.37. The company had a trading volume of 302,038 shares, compared to its average volume of 345,472. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a one year low of $72.57 and a one year high of $96.50. 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 firm's fifty day moving average price is $85.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $88.50. The stock has a market cap of $4.24 billion, a PE ratio of 6.71 and a beta of 0.82.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $3.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.03. Assured Guaranty had a return on equity of 11.58% and a net margin of 70.37%. The company had revenue of $345.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $257.96 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.96 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 7.3 earnings per share 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 issued 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 1.57%. Assured Guaranty's dividend payout ratio 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.