Raymond James Financial Inc. Buys Shares of 311,746 Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 311,746 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $28,060,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.61% of Assured Guaranty as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Assured Guaranty during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Gladius Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Assured Guaranty during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in Assured Guaranty during the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Assured Guaranty by 66.6% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 493 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Assured Guaranty by 183.8% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 596 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 386 shares during the period. 92.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Assured Guaranty Price Performance

AGO stock traded down $1.38 on Tuesday, reaching $85.84. 274,856 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 340,533. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $90.20 and a 200-day moving average of $87.33. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a twelve month low of $72.57 and a twelve month high of $96.50. The firm has a market cap of $4.30 billion, a PE ratio of 6.67 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

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Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO - Get Free Report) last announced 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 business had revenue of $199.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $199.56 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 7.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assured Guaranty Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be issued a $0.34 dividend. This is a positive change from Assured Guaranty's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. Assured Guaranty's dividend payout ratio is 19.94%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on AGO shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Assured Guaranty from $87.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Assured Guaranty from $92.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th.

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.