Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 311,746 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $28,060,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.61% of Assured Guaranty at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Gladius Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Assured Guaranty during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in shares of Assured Guaranty during the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Assured Guaranty by 66.6% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 493 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Assured Guaranty by 183.8% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 596 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 386 shares during the period. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Assured Guaranty by 100.6% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 684 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.22% of the company's stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
AGO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Assured Guaranty from $92.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Assured Guaranty from $87.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th.
Check Out Our Latest Report on Assured Guaranty
Assured Guaranty Stock Performance
AGO traded up $2.18 on Friday, hitting $86.32. 231,660 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 340,645. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a 52 week low of $72.57 and a 52 week high of $96.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.32 billion, a PE ratio of 6.71 and a beta of 1.11. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $90.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $87.22.
Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate of $199.56 million. On average, research analysts predict that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 7.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Assured Guaranty Increases Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. This is a positive change from Assured Guaranty's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. Assured Guaranty's payout ratio is currently 19.94%.
Assured Guaranty Company Profile
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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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