D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Sells 13,018 Shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. decreased its position in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO) by 9.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 118,341 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 13,018 shares during the quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Assured Guaranty were worth $10,652,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AGO. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Assured Guaranty by 46.3% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 471 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of Assured Guaranty by 108.2% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 816 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Assured Guaranty during the fourth quarter worth $97,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in Assured Guaranty by 1,794.9% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,497 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $135,000 after acquiring an additional 1,418 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.22% of the company’s stock.

Assured Guaranty Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of NYSE:AGO opened at $86.19 on Thursday. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a 1 year low of $72.57 and a 1 year high of $96.50. The company has a market capitalization of $4.30 billion, a PE ratio of 6.70 and a beta of 0.82. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $85.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $88.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $3.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.03. Assured Guaranty had a net margin of 70.37% and a return on equity of 11.58%. The company had revenue of $345.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $257.96 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.96 EPS. Analysts forecast that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Assured Guaranty Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Assured Guaranty’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.25%.

Insider Transactions at Assured Guaranty

In related news, CAO Laura Bieling sold 2,649 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.76, for a total value of $232,476.24. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 13,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,181,425.12. This represents a 16.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 5.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Assured Guaranty Company 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.