Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO) Shares Purchased by Sterling Capital Management LLC

Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO) by 18.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 964 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Assured Guaranty were worth $565,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Assured Guaranty by 214.0% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 24,879 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,980,000 after buying an additional 16,956 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its holdings in Assured Guaranty by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 719,249 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $64,740,000 after acquiring an additional 66,487 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Assured Guaranty in the 4th quarter worth approximately $250,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Assured Guaranty during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,367,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Assured Guaranty during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,060,000. 92.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Assured Guaranty Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AGO opened at $83.37 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.16 billion, a PE ratio of 6.48 and a beta of 0.84. 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 $86.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $87.95. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a 1 year low of $72.57 and a 1 year high of $96.50.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.34 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $199.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $199.56 million. Assured Guaranty had a return on equity of 11.58% and a net margin of 70.37%. On average, research analysts predict that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Assured Guaranty Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.63%. This is an increase 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 is presently 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.