Intech Investment Management LLC Has $2.48 Million Stake in Assured Guaranty Ltd. $AGO

Key Points

• Intech Investment Management cut its stake in Assured Guaranty by 79.8% in the fourth quarter, leaving it with 27,596 shares valued at about $2.48 million.
• Assured Guaranty reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $2.50 per share, beating estimates by $1.00, while revenue came in at $261 million. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.38, equal to a 2.1% yield.
• Analyst views are mixed but lean positive: UBS upgraded the stock to buy, and the consensus rating remains Moderate Buy with a $92.33 price target, above the recent trading price near $74.

Intech Investment Management LLC decreased its position in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO - Free Report) by 79.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,596 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 109,053 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Assured Guaranty worth $2,480,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AGO. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its holdings in Assured Guaranty by 176.3% in the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 366,644 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,935,000 after buying an additional 233,966 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its stake in Assured Guaranty by 60.7% in the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 481,707 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $41,957,000 after purchasing an additional 182,004 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Assured Guaranty by 12.2% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,333,024 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $112,840,000 after purchasing an additional 144,841 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its stake in Assured Guaranty by 285.8% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 155,215 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $13,139,000 after purchasing an additional 114,979 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Assured Guaranty by 25.0% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 540,800 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $45,779,000 after purchasing an additional 108,280 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.22% of the company's stock.

Assured Guaranty Trading Down 0.0%

NYSE:AGO opened at $74.04 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $80.14 and a 200-day moving average of $84.90. The company has a market cap of $3.27 billion, a PE ratio of 8.50 and a beta of 0.76. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a one year low of $73.27 and a one year high of $92.39.

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

Assured Guaranty Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were given a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. Assured Guaranty's dividend payout ratio is presently 17.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on AGO shares. UBS Group raised shares of Assured Guaranty from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $94.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Roth Mkm downgraded shares of Assured Guaranty from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $80.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Assured Guaranty from $108.00 to $103.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Assured Guaranty from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Assured Guaranty from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $92.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Assured Guaranty news, CEO Dominic Frederico sold 29,998 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.41, for a total value of $2,442,137.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,264,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $102,926,255.95. This represents a 2.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Francisco L. Borges sold 123,750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.22, for a total transaction of $9,927,225.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 176,952 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,195,089.44. The trade was a 41.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 224,797 shares of company stock worth $17,999,537 in the last ninety days. 5.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Assured Guaranty 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.