Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO - Free Report) by 18.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 437,568 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 98,597 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 0.86% of Assured Guaranty worth $39,385,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in Assured Guaranty by 50.7% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 434,173 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $34,525,000 after purchasing an additional 146,107 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Assured Guaranty by 112.9% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 216,912 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $17,249,000 after buying an additional 115,012 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Assured Guaranty by 112.6% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 174,447 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $13,872,000 after buying an additional 92,408 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its stake in Assured Guaranty by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 719,249 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $64,740,000 after buying an additional 66,487 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Assured Guaranty by 418.0% in the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 49,971 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,974,000 after buying an additional 40,325 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.22% of the company's stock.
Assured Guaranty Stock Performance
Shares of NYSE:AGO traded up $0.84 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $86.78. 167,549 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 258,400. The company has a market cap of $4.35 billion, a PE ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.11. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a 52-week low of $72.57 and a 52-week high of $96.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $90.12 and a 200 day moving average of $87.37.
Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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, equities research analysts predict that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 7.3 EPS for the current year.
Assured Guaranty Increases Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This is a positive change from Assured Guaranty's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.57%. Assured Guaranty's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.94%.
About Assured Guaranty
(
Free Report)
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.
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