Hsbc Holdings PLC Sells 26,594 Shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. $AGO

Hsbc Holdings PLC decreased its stake in shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO - Free Report) by 34.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 50,993 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 26,594 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned about 0.11% of Assured Guaranty worth $4,607,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its stake in Assured Guaranty by 633.9% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 455 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Assured Guaranty in the 4th quarter worth $45,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Assured Guaranty in the third quarter valued at about $44,000. Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in shares of Assured Guaranty in the third quarter valued at about $68,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Assured Guaranty by 99.5% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 868 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 433 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.22% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AGO. Roth Mkm downgraded shares of Assured Guaranty from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $80.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Friday, May 8th. UBS Group raised shares of Assured Guaranty from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $94.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Assured Guaranty from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Weiss Ratings lowered Assured Guaranty from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Assured Guaranty from $108.00 to $103.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Assured Guaranty currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $92.33.

Insider Transactions at Assured Guaranty

In other Assured Guaranty news, COO Robert Bailenson sold 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.62, for a total value of $3,931,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 256,251 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,146,453.62. This trade represents a 16.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Lorin Radtke sold 1,047 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.32, for a total value of $77,813.04. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 9,307 shares in the company, valued at approximately $691,696.24. The trade was a 10.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 174,797 shares of company stock valued at $13,936,038 in the last three months. 5.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Assured Guaranty Stock Performance

NYSE AGO opened at $79.41 on Friday. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a 52-week low of $72.76 and a 52-week high of $92.39. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $78.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $83.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.63. The company has a market capitalization of $3.51 billion, a PE ratio of 9.12 and a beta of 0.76.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50 by $1.00. Assured Guaranty had a net margin of 40.45% and a return on equity of 6.98%. The firm had revenue of $261.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $208.63 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.18 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 7.08 EPS for the current year.

Assured Guaranty Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Assured Guaranty's dividend payout ratio is presently 17.45%.

Assured Guaranty Company Profile

Assured Guaranty Ltd is a Bermuda-domiciled provider of financial guaranty insurance and reinsurance products serving public finance, infrastructure and structured finance markets. The company's primary business activity is credit enhancement, whereby it guarantees the timely payment of principal and interest on debt obligations issued by municipal and infrastructure entities. By combining rigorous risk assessment with active portfolio management, Assured Guaranty helps issuers access capital at more attractive rates while protecting investors against credit events.

In its public finance segment, the company underwrites municipal bond insurance for state and local governments, public-private partnerships and essential infrastructure projects.

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