Rhumbline Advisers trimmed its holdings in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO - Free Report) by 4.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 113,647 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 5,718 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers owned about 0.23% of Assured Guaranty worth $10,012,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AGO. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Assured Guaranty during the fourth quarter worth about $50,447,000. River Road Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Assured Guaranty by 67.4% during the 4th quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 1,116,131 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $100,463,000 after buying an additional 449,310 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Assured Guaranty during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,060,000. Boston Partners lifted its stake in Assured Guaranty by 46.0% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 806,821 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $72,904,000 after buying an additional 254,063 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Assured Guaranty by 8,932.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 240,161 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $211,580,000 after buying an additional 237,502 shares during the last quarter. 92.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Assured Guaranty Stock Performance
Shares of AGO traded down $0.24 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $84.70. 315,034 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 340,329. 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 Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $72.57 and a fifty-two week high of $96.50. The business's 50 day moving average is $84.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $87.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.58 and a beta of 0.83.
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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.03. The company 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 70.37% and a return on equity of 11.58%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.96 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current year.
Assured Guaranty Announces Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. Assured Guaranty's dividend payout ratio is currently 16.25%.
Insider Activity at Assured Guaranty
In related news, CEO Dominic Frederico sold 10,438 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.13, for a total value of $899,024.94. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,337,635 shares in the company, valued at $115,210,502.55. The trade was a 0.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Laura Bieling sold 2,649 shares of Assured Guaranty stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.76, for a total value of $232,476.24. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 13,462 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,181,425.12. This represents a 16.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 85,004 shares of company stock worth $7,324,274 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 5.10% of the company's stock.
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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