UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Buys 115,012 Shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO - Free Report) by 112.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 216,912 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 115,012 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned 0.41% of Assured Guaranty worth $17,249,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Royce & Associates LP raised its position in shares of Assured Guaranty by 13.2% during the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 981,131 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $78,020,000 after acquiring an additional 114,308 shares during the last quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. lifted its position in shares of Assured Guaranty by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 977,758 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $77,751,000 after purchasing an additional 71,114 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Assured Guaranty by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 926,415 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $73,670,000 after purchasing an additional 2,953 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Assured Guaranty by 37.4% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 678,182 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $52,322,000 after buying an additional 184,621 shares during the period. Finally, River Road Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Assured Guaranty during the third quarter worth $53,026,000. 92.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Assured Guaranty

In related news, Director Yukiko Omura sold 3,599 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.73, for a total value of $286,948.27. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 19,285 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,537,593.05. The trade was a 15.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 5.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Assured Guaranty Stock Down 1.1 %

AGO traded down $1.00 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $90.71. 177,826 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 300,817. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a one year low of $67.27 and a one year high of $96.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company's fifty day moving average price is $87.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $81.28. The company has a market cap of $4.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.05 and a beta of 1.11.

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

Assured Guaranty Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. Assured Guaranty's dividend payout ratio is currently 9.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AGO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Assured Guaranty from $92.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. StockNews.com raised Assured Guaranty from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Assured Guaranty from $87.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report 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.