Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 9,816 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $884,000.
Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. M&T Bank Corp grew its position in shares of Assured Guaranty by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 21,508 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,935,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Assured Guaranty by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 10,083 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $908,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in Assured Guaranty by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 12,590 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,133,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Assured Guaranty by 46.3% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 471 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Assured Guaranty by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 4,074 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $367,000 after buying an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.22% of the company's stock.
Assured Guaranty Stock Performance
Shares of NYSE:AGO traded down $0.16 on Monday, hitting $86.09. 410,509 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 345,732. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a one year low of $72.57 and a one year high of $96.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.69 and a beta of 0.82. The company's 50 day moving average price is $85.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $88.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91.
Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $3.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $345.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $257.96 million. Assured Guaranty had a return on equity of 11.58% and a net margin of 70.37%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.96 EPS. Research analysts expect that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current year.
Assured Guaranty Announces Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.58%. Assured Guaranty's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.25%.
Insider Activity at Assured Guaranty
In related news, CAO Laura Bieling sold 2,649 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.76, for a total value of $232,476.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 13,462 shares in the company, valued at $1,181,425.12. The trade was a 16.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 5.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Assured Guaranty Company Profile
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Free Report)
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.
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