Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO) Stake Increased by Barclays PLC

Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO - Free Report) by 100.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 49,857 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 24,978 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned approximately 0.10% of Assured Guaranty worth $4,486,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its position in shares of Assured Guaranty by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 719,249 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $64,740,000 after purchasing an additional 66,487 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Assured Guaranty in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $250,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Assured Guaranty during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,367,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Assured Guaranty during the fourth quarter worth $28,060,000. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Assured Guaranty by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 74,039 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,664,000 after purchasing an additional 6,581 shares during the period. 92.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Assured Guaranty Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:AGO opened at $86.83 on Monday. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a 1-year low of $72.57 and a 1-year high of $96.50. The company's fifty day moving average is $85.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $88.18. 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 has a market capitalization of $4.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.75 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 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $199.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $199.56 million. Assured Guaranty had a net margin of 70.37% and a return on equity of 11.58%. Equities analysts anticipate 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 1.57%. Assured Guaranty's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.

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