Bank of New York Mellon Corp Boosts Holdings in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO - Free Report) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 418,618 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,272 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 0.82% of Assured Guaranty worth $37,680,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gladius Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Assured Guaranty in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Assured Guaranty in the third quarter valued at about $38,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Assured Guaranty by 66.6% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 493 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Assured Guaranty by 183.8% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 596 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 386 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Assured Guaranty by 100.6% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 684 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 343 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.22% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Assured Guaranty from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Assured Guaranty from $92.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Assured Guaranty from $87.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th.

Assured Guaranty Price Performance

AGO stock traded down $0.54 on Monday, reaching $84.73. 7,860 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 253,589. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a twelve month low of $72.57 and a twelve month high of $96.50. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $90.82 and a 200-day moving average of $87.06. The firm has a market cap of $4.24 billion, a PE ratio of 6.57 and a beta of 1.11.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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). The company had revenue of $199.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $199.56 million. Assured Guaranty had a net margin of 70.37% and a return on equity of 11.58%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 7.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assured Guaranty Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.61%. This is an increase from Assured Guaranty's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. Assured Guaranty's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.