Geode Capital Management LLC Decreases Stock Position in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO)

Geode Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO - Free Report) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 797,664 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 25,278 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 1.57% of Assured Guaranty worth $71,820,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Assured Guaranty by 46.3% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 471 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Assured Guaranty by 100.6% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 684 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Assured Guaranty during the fourth quarter worth $97,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in Assured Guaranty by 1,794.9% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,497 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $135,000 after acquiring an additional 1,418 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Assured Guaranty by 208.5% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,524 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $136,000 after acquiring an additional 1,030 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 Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE AGO traded down $0.15 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $81.85. 250,124 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 355,648. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $86.93 and a 200 day moving average of $88.00. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a 1 year low of $72.57 and a 1 year 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 market cap of $4.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.36 and a beta of 0.84.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.27 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $199.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $199.56 million. On average, research 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.66%. 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 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.