Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO) Shares Sold by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. trimmed its holdings in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO - Free Report) by 6.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 119,446 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 8,750 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.23% of Assured Guaranty worth $10,751,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Assured Guaranty in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Assured Guaranty by 100.6% in the 4th 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. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Assured Guaranty during the fourth quarter worth about $97,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in Assured Guaranty by 1,794.9% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,497 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $135,000 after purchasing an additional 1,418 shares in the last quarter. 92.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Assured Guaranty Stock Up 1.1 %

Assured Guaranty stock traded up $0.91 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $83.66. The stock had a trading volume of 36,040 shares, compared to its average volume of 353,892. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $86.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $87.92. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a 12 month low of $72.57 and a 12 month high of $96.50. The stock has a market cap of $4.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.50 and a beta of 0.84.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.34 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $199.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $199.56 million. Assured Guaranty had a net margin of 70.37% and a return on equity of 11.58%. Research analysts predict that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 7.3 EPS for the current year.

Assured Guaranty Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. This is a positive change from Assured Guaranty's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.63%. Assured Guaranty's payout ratio 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.