Raymond James Financial Inc. Makes New $28.06 Million Investment in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor 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 have also bought and sold shares of the company. River Road Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Assured Guaranty by 67.4% in the 4th quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 1,116,131 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $100,463,000 after acquiring an additional 449,310 shares in the last quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. lifted its position in shares of Assured Guaranty by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 1,005,784 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $90,531,000 after acquiring an additional 28,026 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP boosted its stake in Assured Guaranty by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 990,193 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $89,127,000 after acquiring an additional 9,062 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Assured Guaranty by 0.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 926,415 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $73,670,000 after purchasing an additional 2,953 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Assured Guaranty by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 903,270 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $81,303,000 after purchasing an additional 97,091 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.22% of the company's stock.

Assured Guaranty Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of AGO traded up $1.53 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $86.26. The stock had a trading volume of 34,637 shares, compared to its average volume of 350,942. 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 $4.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.70 and a beta of 0.84. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $85.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $88.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.27 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $199.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $199.56 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 7.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assured Guaranty Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.58%. This is a positive change 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.