Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 4,879 Shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its position in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 921,536 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,879 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 1.81% of Assured Guaranty worth $82,951,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Creative Planning raised its stake in Assured Guaranty by 1.2% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 11,140 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $886,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Assured Guaranty by 1.3% in the third quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 11,426 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $909,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd boosted its holdings in Assured Guaranty by 1.6% in the third quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 11,454 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $911,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of Assured Guaranty by 66.6% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 493 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the period. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Assured Guaranty by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,647 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $370,000 after acquiring an additional 233 shares during the period. 92.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Assured Guaranty Price Performance

Shares of Assured Guaranty stock opened at $91.76 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.67 billion, a PE ratio of 7.13 and a beta of 1.11. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $90.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $85.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a 12 month low of $72.57 and a 12 month high of $96.60.

Assured Guaranty Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.48%. This is a positive change from Assured Guaranty’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Assured Guaranty’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Assured Guaranty from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, UBS Group boosted 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.