Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO) Shares Bought by Intech Investment Management LLC

Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO - Free Report) by 418.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 49,971 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 40,325 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.09% of Assured Guaranty worth $3,974,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. River Road Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Assured Guaranty during the third quarter worth approximately $53,026,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Assured Guaranty by 82.6% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 662,354 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $51,101,000 after acquiring an additional 299,658 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Assured Guaranty during the first quarter worth about $24,683,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Assured Guaranty by 37.4% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 678,182 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $52,322,000 after acquiring an additional 184,621 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royce & Associates LP boosted its position in Assured Guaranty by 13.2% in the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 981,131 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $78,020,000 after buying an additional 114,308 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.22% of the company's stock.

Assured Guaranty Price Performance

Shares of AGO traded up $1.29 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $93.09. 257,246 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 305,928. 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 stock's 50-day moving average price is $84.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $80.24. The company has a market cap of $4.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.23 and a beta of 1.10. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a 12-month low of $67.25 and a 12-month high of $96.60.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $1.00. The company had revenue of $269.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $202.57 million. Assured Guaranty had a return on equity of 11.58% and a net margin of 70.37%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 33.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.42 EPS. Research analysts expect that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Assured Guaranty Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. Assured Guaranty's dividend payout ratio is presently 9.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AGO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Assured Guaranty from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. UBS Group upped their target price on Assured Guaranty from $87.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Assured Guaranty from $92.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th.

Insider Transactions at Assured Guaranty

In other Assured Guaranty news, Director Yukiko Omura sold 3,599 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.73, for a total value of $286,948.27. Following the sale, the director now owns 19,285 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,537,593.05. This trade represents a 15.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Dominic Frederico sold 31,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.01, for a total value of $2,480,310.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,380,119 shares in the company, valued at $110,423,321.19. This trade represents a 2.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 5.10% of the company's stock.

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.