UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO - Free Report) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 222,403 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 5,491 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned about 0.44% of Assured Guaranty worth $20,018,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AGO. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Assured Guaranty in the 4th quarter valued at $50,447,000. River Road Asset Management LLC raised its position in Assured Guaranty by 67.4% in 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. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Assured Guaranty during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,060,000. Boston Partners boosted its stake in shares of Assured Guaranty by 46.0% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 806,821 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $72,904,000 after purchasing an additional 254,063 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Assured Guaranty by 89.0% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 488,895 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $44,005,000 after purchasing an additional 230,258 shares during the last quarter. 92.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Assured Guaranty Trading Up 0.3%
NYSE AGO traded up $0.22 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $84.77. The company's stock had a trading volume of 287,136 shares, compared to its average volume of 346,267. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $85.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $88.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a 52 week low of $72.57 and a 52 week high of $96.50. The stock has a market cap of $4.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.59 and a beta of 0.82.
Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $3.18 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.03. Assured Guaranty had a net margin of 70.37% and a return on equity of 11.58%. The company had revenue of $345.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $257.96 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.96 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Assured Guaranty Announces Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. Assured Guaranty's payout ratio is presently 16.25%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other Assured Guaranty news, CAO Laura Bieling sold 2,649 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 13,462 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,181,425.12. This represents a 16.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dominic Frederico sold 71,917 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.11, for a total transaction of $6,192,772.87. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,348,073 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $116,082,566.03. The trade was a 5.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 85,004 shares of company stock valued at $7,324,274. 5.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
About Assured Guaranty
(
Free Report)
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.
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