Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Increases Holdings in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO - Free Report) by 7.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 79,865 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 5,826 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.16% of Assured Guaranty worth $7,036,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AGO. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Assured Guaranty during the fourth quarter worth about $97,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Assured Guaranty by 554.2% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,544 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $136,000 after buying an additional 1,308 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Assured Guaranty during the fourth quarter worth about $150,000. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Assured Guaranty during the fourth quarter worth about $214,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.22% of the company's stock.

Assured Guaranty Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AGO traded up $0.85 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $84.29. 219,305 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 309,742. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a 1 year low of $72.57 and a 1 year high of $96.50. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $84.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $86.78. The stock has a market cap of $4.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.07 and a beta of 0.82.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $3.18 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $345.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $257.96 million. Assured Guaranty had a net margin of 45.58% and a return on equity of 7.76%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.96 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assured Guaranty Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were given a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.61%. Assured Guaranty's payout ratio is currently 16.25%.

Insider Transactions at Assured Guaranty

In related news, CAO Laura Bieling sold 2,649 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were 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 owned 13,462 shares in the company, valued at $1,181,425.12. This trade represents a 16.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Dominic Frederico sold 10,438 shares of the firm's 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 owned 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 85,004 shares of company stock valued at $7,324,274. 5.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.