Optimize Financial Inc Purchases Shares of 4,120 Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO)

Optimize Financial Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 4,120 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $371,000.

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

Assured Guaranty Stock Performance

NYSE:AGO traded up $0.62 on Thursday, reaching $83.37. 255,932 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 354,736. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $86.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $87.92. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a 52 week low of $72.57 and a 52 week high of $96.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market cap of $4.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.48 and a beta of 0.84.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $199.56 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Assured Guaranty Increases Dividend

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