Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC Increases Position in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO)

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO - Free Report) by 426.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 46,989 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 38,068 shares during the quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC owned 0.09% of Assured Guaranty worth $4,229,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of AGO. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Assured Guaranty in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Assured Guaranty by 100.6% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 684 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of Assured Guaranty by 108.2% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 816 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Assured Guaranty in the 4th quarter worth about $97,000. 92.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Assured Guaranty news, CAO Laura Bieling sold 2,649 shares of the company'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 transaction of $232,476.24. Following the completion of 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 represents a 16.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 5.10% of the company's stock.

Assured Guaranty Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AGO traded down $0.16 during trading on Friday, reaching $86.37. 302,038 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 344,836. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $85.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $88.45. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a 52-week low of $72.57 and a 52-week high of $96.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.24 billion, a PE ratio of 6.71 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $345.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $257.96 million. Assured Guaranty had a net margin of 70.37% and a return on equity of 11.58%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.96 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Assured Guaranty Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Assured Guaranty's dividend payout ratio is 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.