Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO) Shares Sold by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank decreased its holdings in shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 98,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,600 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Assured Guaranty were worth $8,857,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AGO. River Road Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Assured Guaranty by 67.4% during the 4th quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 1,116,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $100,463,000 after acquiring an additional 449,310 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Assured Guaranty during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,060,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in Assured Guaranty by 50.7% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 434,173 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,525,000 after purchasing an additional 146,107 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in Assured Guaranty by 112.9% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 216,912 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $17,249,000 after purchasing an additional 115,012 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in Assured Guaranty by 112.6% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 174,447 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,872,000 after acquiring an additional 92,408 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.22% of the company’s stock.

Assured Guaranty Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AGO opened at $85.52 on Friday. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a twelve month low of $72.57 and a twelve month high of $96.50. The business has a fifty day moving average of $90.03 and a 200-day moving average of $87.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market cap of $4.28 billion, a PE ratio of 6.64 and a beta of 1.11.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $199.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $199.56 million. Assured Guaranty had a return on equity of 11.58% and a net margin of 70.37%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 7.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assured Guaranty Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This is a boost from Assured Guaranty’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. Assured Guaranty’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.94%.

Assured Guaranty Company 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.