JPMorgan Chase & Co. Boosts Stock Position in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO - Free Report) by 10.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 155,526 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 14,565 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 0.31% of Assured Guaranty worth $13,999,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. M&T Bank Corp boosted its position in Assured Guaranty by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 21,508 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,935,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Assured Guaranty by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 10,083 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $908,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in Assured Guaranty by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 12,590 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,133,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Assured Guaranty by 46.3% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 471 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Assured Guaranty by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,929 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $444,000 after buying an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. 92.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Assured Guaranty Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of Assured Guaranty stock traded up $0.85 on Thursday, reaching $83.60. The stock had a trading volume of 21,262 shares, compared to its average volume of 353,829. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a 1 year low of $72.57 and a 1 year high of $96.50. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $86.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $87.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.51 and a beta of 0.84.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.34 by ($0.07). Assured Guaranty had a net margin of 70.37% and a return on equity of 11.58%. The business had revenue of $199.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $199.56 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 7.3 EPS for the current year.

Assured Guaranty Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th were paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. This is a boost from Assured Guaranty's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.63%. Assured Guaranty's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.94%.

About Assured Guaranty

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.