First Eagle Investment Management LLC Acquires New Shares in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO)

First Eagle Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 26,300 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,367,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC owned 0.05% of Assured Guaranty as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. River Road Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Assured Guaranty by 67.4% in the fourth quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 1,116,131 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $100,463,000 after purchasing an additional 449,310 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Assured Guaranty in the 4th quarter worth about $28,060,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of Assured Guaranty by 50.7% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 434,173 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,525,000 after acquiring an additional 146,107 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of Assured Guaranty by 112.9% in 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 worth $17,249,000 after acquiring an additional 115,012 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 92,408 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.22% of the company's stock.

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Assured Guaranty Stock Up 0.0 %

AGO traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $86.75. The company's stock had a trading volume of 325,401 shares, compared to its average volume of 339,276. The stock's 50-day moving average is $90.08 and its 200-day moving average is $87.37. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a 1 year low of $72.57 and a 1 year high of $96.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO - Get Free Report) last posted 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 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. As a group, research analysts expect that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 7.3 EPS for the current year.

Assured Guaranty Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th were paid a $0.34 dividend. 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. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.57%. Assured Guaranty's payout ratio 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.