Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC Takes Position in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO)

Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 3,065 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $267,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AGO. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC bought a new stake in shares of Assured Guaranty during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Assured Guaranty in the 4th quarter valued at about $53,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in Assured Guaranty in the fourth quarter worth approximately $66,000. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Assured Guaranty in the first quarter valued at approximately $182,000. Finally, Sage Rhino Capital LLC bought a new stake in Assured Guaranty during the 4th quarter valued at $211,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.22% of the company’s stock.

Assured Guaranty Stock Performance

NYSE AGO opened at $77.28 on Wednesday. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a 52-week low of $54.30 and a 52-week high of $96.60. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $77.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $80.52. The company has a market capitalization of $4.21 billion, a PE ratio of 5.97 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.97.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.55. The firm had revenue of $245.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $194.78 million. Assured Guaranty had a net margin of 57.45% and a return on equity of 12.48%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.12 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 6.45 EPS for the current year.

Assured Guaranty Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th were paid a $0.31 dividend. This is a positive change from Assured Guaranty’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 14th. Assured Guaranty’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Assured Guaranty

In related news, COO Robert Bailenson sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.94, for a total value of $2,398,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 304,835 shares in the company, valued at $24,368,509.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Laura Bieling sold 3,901 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.93, for a total value of $311,806.93. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 16,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,281,757.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Robert Bailenson sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.94, for a total value of $2,398,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 304,835 shares in the company, valued at $24,368,509.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 73,901 shares of company stock valued at $5,834,807 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 5.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Assured Guaranty from $92.00 to $87.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 31st.

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.