Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Invests $3.65 Million in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO)

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 40,511 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,646,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned 0.08% of Assured Guaranty at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Assured Guaranty in the fourth quarter valued at about $50,447,000. River Road Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Assured Guaranty by 67.4% in the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 449,310 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Assured Guaranty in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,060,000. Boston Partners increased its stake in Assured Guaranty by 46.0% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 806,821 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $72,904,000 after purchasing an additional 254,063 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Assured Guaranty by 89.0% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. 92.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Laura Bieling sold 2,649 shares of Assured Guaranty stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.76, for a total transaction of $232,476.24. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 13,462 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,181,425.12. This trade represents a 16.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Dominic Frederico sold 10,438 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.13, for a total value of $899,024.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,337,635 shares in the company, valued at approximately $115,210,502.55. This trade represents a 0.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 85,004 shares of company stock worth $7,324,274. Company insiders own 5.10% of the company's stock.

Assured Guaranty Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of AGO traded down $0.39 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $84.09. 231,456 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 345,537. The company has a market cap of $4.13 billion, a PE ratio of 6.53 and a beta of 0.82. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a 52 week low of $72.57 and a 52 week high of $96.50. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $84.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $88.20. 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 (NYSE:AGO - Get Free Report) last released 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. Assured Guaranty had a net margin of 70.37% and a return on equity of 11.58%. The firm had revenue of $345.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $257.96 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.96 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assured Guaranty Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were given a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. Assured Guaranty's payout ratio is currently 16.25%.

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.