Schroder Investment Management Group Buys 46,421 Shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO)

Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its position in shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO - Free Report) by 70.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 112,624 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 46,421 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group owned approximately 0.22% of Assured Guaranty worth $10,065,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Assured Guaranty in the fourth quarter worth about $50,447,000. River Road Asset Management LLC increased 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 purchasing an additional 449,310 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Assured Guaranty in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,060,000. Boston Partners boosted its position in Assured Guaranty by 46.0% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 806,821 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $72,904,000 after buying an additional 254,063 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Assured Guaranty by 236.5% in the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 168,141 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $15,134,000 after buying an additional 118,170 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.22% of the company's stock.

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Assured Guaranty Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AGO traded up $5.38 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $82.69. 553,098 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 358,472. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a 1-year low of $72.57 and a 1-year high of $96.50. The company has a market capitalization of $4.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.43 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The business's 50 day moving average is $87.65 and its 200-day moving average is $87.92.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by ($0.07). Assured Guaranty had a return on equity of 11.58% and a net margin of 70.37%. The firm had revenue of $199.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $199.56 million. Equities analysts forecast that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Assured Guaranty Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. This is an increase from Assured Guaranty's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.64%. Assured Guaranty's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.94%.

About Assured Guaranty

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.