Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) Major Shareholder Guaranty Ltd Assured Sells 1,882 Shares of Stock

Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO) major shareholder Guaranty Ltd Assured sold 1,882 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.64, for a total transaction of $31,316.48. Following the sale, the insider owned 5,281,112 shares in the company, valued at approximately $87,877,703.68. This represents a 0.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Major shareholders that own at least 10% of a company’s stock are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

Guaranty Ltd Assured also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, October 28th, Guaranty Ltd Assured sold 266 shares of Assured Guaranty stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.69, for a total transaction of $4,439.54.
• On Monday, October 27th, Guaranty Ltd Assured sold 590 shares of Assured Guaranty stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.70, for a total value of $9,853.00.
• On Wednesday, October 15th, Guaranty Ltd Assured sold 6,258 shares of Assured Guaranty stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.90, for a total value of $105,760.20.
• On Tuesday, October 14th, Guaranty Ltd Assured sold 1,227 shares of Assured Guaranty stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.38, for a total value of $21,325.26.
• On Monday, October 13th, Guaranty Ltd Assured sold 3,195 shares of Assured Guaranty stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.51, for a total value of $55,944.45.
• On Thursday, October 9th, Guaranty Ltd Assured sold 3,409 shares of Assured Guaranty stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.78, for a total value of $60,612.02.

Assured Guaranty Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of AGO opened at $81.35 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a 12 month low of $74.09 and a 12 month high of $96.50. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $82.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $83.97. The firm has a market cap of $3.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.99 and a beta of 0.92.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by ($0.56). Assured Guaranty had a net margin of 44.53% and a return on equity of 7.18%. The company had revenue of $281.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $203.91 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.44 EPS. Assured Guaranty’s revenue was up 39.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assured Guaranty Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th were given a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Assured Guaranty’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.03%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AGO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Assured Guaranty from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Assured Guaranty from $95.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Zacks Research upgraded Assured Guaranty from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Assured Guaranty in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Assured Guaranty presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $98.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Assured Guaranty

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Assured Guaranty during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,305,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its holdings in shares of Assured Guaranty by 41.7% during the 1st quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 70,622 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,222,000 after purchasing an additional 20,779 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Assured Guaranty by 25.6% during the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,516 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $222,000 after buying an additional 513 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new position in Assured Guaranty during the first quarter worth $624,000. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Assured Guaranty by 7.9% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 79,865 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,036,000 after buying an additional 5,826 shares during the last quarter. 92.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.