Bridgewater Associates LP Acquires 31,634 Shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO)

Bridgewater Associates LP grew its holdings in shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO - Free Report) by 47.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 98,102 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 31,634 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP owned 0.19% of Assured Guaranty worth $8,830,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in Assured Guaranty during the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,447,000. River Road Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Assured Guaranty by 67.4% in 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 buying an additional 449,310 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Assured Guaranty during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,060,000. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in Assured Guaranty by 46.0% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 806,821 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $72,904,000 after acquiring an additional 254,063 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 118,170 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.22% of the company's stock.

Assured Guaranty Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AGO traded up $2.05 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $84.04. The company had a trading volume of 19,447 shares, compared to its average volume of 351,204. The stock has a market cap of $4.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.53 and a beta of 0.84. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $85.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $88.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a 12 month low of $72.57 and a 12 month high of $96.50.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 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. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Assured Guaranty Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.62%. This is a boost from Assured Guaranty's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. Assured Guaranty's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.