Capula Management Ltd Purchases Shares of 3,320 Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO)

Capula Management Ltd acquired a new stake in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 3,320 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $299,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Assured Guaranty in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,447,000. River Road Asset Management LLC raised its holdings 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 valued at $100,463,000 after acquiring an additional 449,310 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Assured Guaranty during the 4th quarter valued at $28,060,000. Boston Partners lifted its position in shares of Assured Guaranty by 46.0% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $15,134,000 after acquiring an additional 118,170 shares during the period. 92.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Assured Guaranty Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AGO traded up $0.62 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $80.61. 336,706 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 356,361. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $87.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $87.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.26 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. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $199.56 million. On average, equities analysts expect that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Assured Guaranty Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 yield of 1.69%. This is an increase 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.