Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO - Free Report) by 9.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 74,039 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 6,581 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.15% of Assured Guaranty worth $6,664,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. River Road Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Assured Guaranty by 67.4% during the fourth quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 1,116,131 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $100,463,000 after purchasing an additional 449,310 shares during the last quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. lifted its holdings in shares of Assured Guaranty by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 1,005,784 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $90,531,000 after acquiring an additional 28,026 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP grew its position in Assured Guaranty by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 990,193 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $89,127,000 after acquiring an additional 9,062 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Assured Guaranty by 0.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 926,415 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $73,670,000 after acquiring an additional 2,953 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Assured Guaranty by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 903,270 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $81,303,000 after acquiring an additional 97,091 shares during the last quarter. 92.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Assured Guaranty Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:AGO traded down $0.18 during trading on Friday, hitting $86.36. The company had a trading volume of 35,949 shares, compared to its average volume of 350,305. The stock has a market cap of $4.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.71 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $85.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $88.08. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 11.58% and a net margin of 70.37%. The company had revenue of $199.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $199.56 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Assured Guaranty Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. This is a boost from Assured Guaranty's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.57%. Assured Guaranty's payout ratio is currently 19.94%.

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.