Verition Fund Management LLC Acquires 13,422 Shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO)

Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its holdings in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO - Free Report) by 247.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 18,853 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 13,422 shares during the quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC's holdings in Assured Guaranty were worth $1,499,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. River Road Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Assured Guaranty in the 3rd quarter worth about $53,026,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Assured Guaranty by 82.6% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 662,354 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $51,101,000 after purchasing an additional 299,658 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Assured Guaranty by 37.4% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 678,182 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $52,322,000 after purchasing an additional 184,621 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in Assured Guaranty by 50.7% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 434,173 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,525,000 after purchasing an additional 146,107 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Assured Guaranty by 112.9% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 216,912 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $17,249,000 after buying an additional 115,012 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.22% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Assured Guaranty

In other news, Director Yukiko Omura sold 3,599 shares of Assured Guaranty stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.73, for a total value of $286,948.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 5.10% of the company's stock.

Assured Guaranty Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AGO traded down $1.00 during trading on Friday, hitting $90.71. The company had a trading volume of 177,826 shares, compared to its average volume of 300,817. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a 12 month low of $67.27 and a 12 month 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 firm has a market capitalization of $4.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.05 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $87.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $81.28.

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

Assured Guaranty Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on AGO shares. UBS Group upped their price objective on Assured Guaranty from $87.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. StockNews.com raised shares of Assured Guaranty from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Assured Guaranty from $92.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" 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.