Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Has $29.05 Million Stake in Assured Guaranty Ltd. $AGO

Key Points

• Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. has reduced its holdings in Assured Guaranty Ltd. by 24.6%, selling 107,804 shares and retaining a 0.66% stake valued at approximately $29 million.
• Wall Street analysts have recently downgraded the stock's ratings, with UBS lowering its price target from $95.00 to $92.00, while Zacks Research assigned a "strong sell" rating.
• Assured Guaranty announced a quarterly dividend of $0.34 per share, with a payout expected on September 3rd, reflecting a low dividend payout ratio of 15.03%.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO - Free Report) by 24.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 329,764 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 107,804 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.66% of Assured Guaranty worth $29,052,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of Assured Guaranty by 27.6% during the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 717 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Assured Guaranty during the 4th quarter valued at about $97,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Assured Guaranty by 554.2% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,544 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $136,000 after buying an additional 1,308 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Assured Guaranty during the 1st quarter valued at about $218,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Assured Guaranty by 117.1% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,482 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $219,000 after buying an additional 1,339 shares during the last quarter. 92.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AGO shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Assured Guaranty from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Assured Guaranty from $95.00 to $92.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Assured Guaranty to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $98.50.

Assured Guaranty Stock Performance

Shares of AGO stock traded down $1.2760 during trading on Monday, reaching $81.2340. The company had a trading volume of 405,260 shares, compared to its average volume of 347,442. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $84.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $85.41. The company has a market capitalization of $3.87 billion, a PE ratio of 8.98 and a beta of 0.88. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a one year low of $74.09 and a one year high of $96.50.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.57 by ($0.56). The business had revenue of $281.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $203.91 million. Assured Guaranty had a return on equity of 7.18% and a net margin of 44.53%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 39.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.44 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Assured Guaranty Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be given a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 20th. Assured Guaranty's payout ratio is currently 15.03%.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Robert Bailenson sold 40,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.51, for a total transaction of $3,260,400.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 291,728 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,778,749.28. The trade was a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate 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.