Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO - Free Report) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 921,536 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 4,879 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 1.81% of Assured Guaranty worth $82,951,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Creative Planning boosted its stake in Assured Guaranty by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 11,140 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $886,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Assured Guaranty by 155.8% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 637 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 388 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in shares of Assured Guaranty by 22.8% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 162,836 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $12,949,000 after buying an additional 30,283 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Assured Guaranty during the third quarter worth $740,000. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its position in Assured Guaranty by 55.6% in the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 47,223 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,754,000 after buying an additional 16,869 shares during the last quarter. 92.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Assured Guaranty Stock Performance
Shares of Assured Guaranty stock traded down $1.20 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $89.83. 276,368 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 218,363. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.98 and a beta of 1.11. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a 12-month low of $72.57 and a 12-month high of $96.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $90.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $86.00.
Assured Guaranty Increases Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.51%. This is a boost from Assured Guaranty's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. Assured Guaranty's payout ratio is presently 9.63%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
AGO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Assured Guaranty from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Assured Guaranty from $87.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Assured Guaranty from $92.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th.
View Our Latest Analysis on AGO
About Assured Guaranty
(
Free Report)
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.
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