Vest Financial LLC Acquires Shares of 38,969 Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO)

Vest Financial LLC acquired a new position in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 38,969 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,433,000. Vest Financial LLC owned 0.08% of Assured Guaranty as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Assured Guaranty in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 149 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 343 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 424 shares during the period. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Assured Guaranty in the fourth quarter worth about $97,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.22% of the company's stock.

Assured Guaranty Price Performance

Shares of Assured Guaranty stock traded up $1.35 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $85.46. The stock had a trading volume of 207,786 shares, compared to its average volume of 344,979. The stock's 50 day moving average is $84.73 and its 200 day moving average is $88.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.20 billion, a PE ratio of 6.64 and a beta of 0.83. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a twelve month low of $72.57 and a twelve 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.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $3.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.03. Assured Guaranty had a net margin of 70.37% and a return on equity of 11.58%. The firm had revenue of $345.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $257.96 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.96 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assured Guaranty Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.59%. Assured Guaranty's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Laura Bieling sold 2,649 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.76, for a total transaction of $232,476.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 13,462 shares in the company, valued at $1,181,425.12. This represents a 16.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Dominic Frederico sold 10,438 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.13, for a total transaction of $899,024.94. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,337,635 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $115,210,502.55. The trade was a 0.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 85,004 shares of company stock worth $7,324,274 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 5.10% of the company's stock.

Assured Guaranty 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.