Norges Bank Buys Shares of 560,456 Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO)

Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 560,456 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $50,447,000. Norges Bank owned about 1.10% of Assured Guaranty as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. River Road Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Assured Guaranty by 67.4% during the fourth quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 1,116,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $100,463,000 after buying an additional 449,310 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Assured Guaranty during the 4th quarter worth about $28,060,000. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in Assured Guaranty by 46.0% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 806,821 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $72,904,000 after acquiring an additional 254,063 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position in Assured Guaranty by 236.5% in the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 168,141 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $15,134,000 after acquiring an additional 118,170 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Assured Guaranty by 112.9% during the third 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 worth $17,249,000 after purchasing an additional 115,012 shares during the period. 92.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Assured Guaranty Trading Down 6.1 %

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

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $199.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $199.56 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 7.3 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. This is a positive change from Assured Guaranty’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Assured Guaranty’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.