Wellington Management Group LLP Cuts Stock Holdings in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO)

Wellington Management Group LLP lowered its position in shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO - Free Report) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,492,726 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 241,215 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP owned about 8.97% of Assured Guaranty worth $404,390,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Assured Guaranty in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $214,000. California Public Employees Retirement System raised its position in Assured Guaranty by 75.2% in the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 198,024 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $17,824,000 after purchasing an additional 85,006 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its stake in Assured Guaranty by 70.1% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 112,624 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $10,065,000 after purchasing an additional 46,421 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Assured Guaranty during the 4th quarter worth $150,000. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Assured Guaranty in the fourth quarter valued at $50,447,000. 92.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Assured Guaranty Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AGO traded down $5.12 on Friday, reaching $78.96. The company's stock had a trading volume of 447,979 shares, compared to its average volume of 356,854. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a 52-week low of $72.57 and a 52-week high of $96.50. The stock's 50-day moving average is $89.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $88.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.14 and a beta of 1.11.

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Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.34 by ($0.07). Assured Guaranty had a net margin of 70.37% and a return on equity of 11.58%. The company had revenue of $199.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $199.56 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 7.3 EPS for the current year.

Assured Guaranty Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th were given a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.72%. This is a positive change from Assured Guaranty's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. Assured Guaranty's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.