Royce & Associates LP Grows Stock Position in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO)

Royce & Associates LP increased its stake in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO - Free Report) by 13.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 981,131 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 114,308 shares during the quarter. Assured Guaranty accounts for 0.7% of Royce & Associates LP's portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Royce & Associates LP owned about 1.86% of Assured Guaranty worth $78,020,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new position in shares of Assured Guaranty during the 1st quarter worth $35,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake 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 worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Assured Guaranty by 183.8% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 596 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 386 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. bought a new position in Assured Guaranty in the 2nd quarter worth $46,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Assured Guaranty by 155.8% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 637 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 388 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.22% of the company's stock.

Assured Guaranty Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:AGO traded down $0.52 on Friday, hitting $91.02. 353,752 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 382,762. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $82.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $79.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.07 and a beta of 1.10. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a 12 month low of $65.39 and a 12 month high of $96.60.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $1.00. The company had revenue of $269.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $202.57 million. Assured Guaranty had a net margin of 70.37% and a return on equity of 11.58%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 33.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.42 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 7.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assured Guaranty Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.36%. Assured Guaranty's dividend payout ratio is currently 9.63%.

Insider Transactions at Assured Guaranty

In other news, Director Yukiko Omura sold 3,599 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.73, for a total transaction of $286,948.27. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 19,285 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,537,593.05. This represents a 15.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dominic Frederico sold 31,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.01, for a total value of $2,480,310.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,380,119 shares in the company, valued at approximately $110,423,321.19. This trade represents a 2.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 5.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group increased their target price on Assured Guaranty from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Assured Guaranty from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday.

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.