Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Sells 39,108 Shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. $AGO

Key Points

• Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH trimmed its stake in Assured Guaranty by 91.2% in Q4, selling 39,108 shares and leaving 3,794 shares valued at $341,000, while institutional investors collectively own about 92.22% of the stock.
• Insiders have been selling heavily — Director Francisco L. Borges sold 123,750 shares for roughly $9.93 million, and insiders disposed of 174,969 shares worth about $14.10 million over the past 90 days, though insiders still own 5.70% of the company.
• Fundamentals were strong: Q4 EPS beat at $2.32 vs $1.54 with revenue up 77.6% to $277M; the company announced a $0.38 quarterly dividend (annualized $1.52, ~1.9% yield) and the consensus analyst rating is a Moderate Buy with a $98.50 average price target.

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH trimmed its position in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO - Free Report) by 91.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,794 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 39,108 shares during the quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH's holdings in Assured Guaranty were worth $341,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its holdings in Assured Guaranty by 176.3% during the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 366,644 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,935,000 after acquiring an additional 233,966 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Assured Guaranty by 60.7% in the 2nd 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 during the period. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Assured Guaranty by 12.2% during the 3rd 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 grew its position in shares of Assured Guaranty by 285.8% during the 3rd 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, Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Assured Guaranty by 218.1% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 162,615 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $13,765,000 after purchasing an additional 111,498 shares during the period. 92.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Assured Guaranty

In other Assured Guaranty news, Director Lorin Radtke sold 1,219 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.14, for a total value of $106,223.66. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 8,297 shares of the company's stock, valued at $723,000.58. This represents a 12.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Francisco L. Borges sold 123,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.22, for a total transaction of $9,927,225.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 176,952 shares in the company, valued at $14,195,089.44. The trade was a 41.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 174,969 shares of company stock valued at $14,096,948 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 5.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Assured Guaranty from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Assured Guaranty from $108.00 to $103.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Assured Guaranty from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $98.50.

Assured Guaranty Stock Performance

Assured Guaranty stock opened at $81.91 on Wednesday. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $78.77 and a fifty-two week high of $92.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market cap of $3.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.00 and a beta of 0.81. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $83.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $85.63.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The financial services provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.78. The company had revenue of $277.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $205.83 million. Assured Guaranty had a net margin of 45.31% and a return on equity of 7.77%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 77.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.27 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 6.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assured Guaranty Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. Assured Guaranty's dividend payout ratio is presently 14.84%.

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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