Schroder Investment Management Group Boosts Stock Position in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO)

Schroder Investment Management Group raised its position in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO) by 70.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 112,624 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 46,421 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group’s holdings in Assured Guaranty were worth $10,065,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AGO. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Assured Guaranty in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Assured Guaranty by 46.3% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 471 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Assured Guaranty by 100.6% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 684 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 343 shares during the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Assured Guaranty during the fourth quarter worth about $97,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in shares of Assured Guaranty by 1,794.9% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,497 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $135,000 after purchasing an additional 1,418 shares during the period. 92.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Assured Guaranty Stock Down 6.1 %

AGO opened at $78.96 on Friday. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a 1 year low of $72.57 and a 1 year high of $96.50. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $89.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $87.98. 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 has a market cap of $3.94 billion, a PE ratio of 6.14 and a beta of 1.11.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) last issued its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $199.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $199.56 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Assured Guaranty Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. This is a boost from Assured Guaranty’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Assured Guaranty’s payout ratio is currently 19.94%.

Assured Guaranty Profile

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.