Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO) Shares Bought by Natixis

Natixis boosted its position in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO - Free Report) by 109.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 56,735 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 29,702 shares during the quarter. Natixis owned 0.11% of Assured Guaranty worth $5,107,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Assured Guaranty in the 4th quarter worth about $50,447,000. River Road Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Assured Guaranty by 67.4% in the fourth quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 1,116,131 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $100,463,000 after buying an additional 449,310 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Assured Guaranty during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,060,000. Boston Partners grew its stake in Assured Guaranty by 46.0% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 806,821 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $72,904,000 after buying an additional 254,063 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Assured Guaranty by 89.0% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 488,895 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $44,005,000 after acquiring an additional 230,258 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.22% of the company's stock.

Assured Guaranty Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:AGO traded up $1.23 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $86.55. 339,086 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 351,535. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $85.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $88.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a twelve month low of $72.57 and a twelve month high of $96.50. The company has a market cap of $4.32 billion, a PE ratio of 6.72 and a beta of 0.84.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.34 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $199.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 anticipate that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 7.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assured Guaranty Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.57%. This is a positive change from Assured Guaranty's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Assured Guaranty's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.94%.

Assured Guaranty 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.