Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO) Shares Sold by Philadelphia Financial Management of San Francisco LLC

Philadelphia Financial Management of San Francisco LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO) by 38.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 231,347 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 147,195 shares during the quarter. Assured Guaranty comprises approximately 2.9% of Philadelphia Financial Management of San Francisco LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest position. Philadelphia Financial Management of San Francisco LLC’s holdings in Assured Guaranty were worth $18,397,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AGO. Gladius Capital Management LP bought a new position in Assured Guaranty during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Assured Guaranty during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. 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 valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Assured Guaranty by 183.8% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 596 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 386 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. bought a new position in Assured Guaranty in the second quarter worth $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.22% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Assured Guaranty news, Director Yukiko Omura sold 3,599 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.73, for a total value of $286,948.27. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 19,285 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,537,593.05. This trade represents a 15.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 5.10% of the company’s stock.

Assured Guaranty Stock Up 0.1 %

AGO opened at $92.21 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $4.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.16 and a beta of 1.11. 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’s 50-day simple moving average is $86.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $80.98. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a twelve month low of $67.27 and a twelve month high of $96.60.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $1.00. Assured Guaranty had a net margin of 70.37% and a return on equity of 11.58%. The firm had revenue of $269.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $202.57 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.42 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 33.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 7.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assured Guaranty Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be given a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.34%. Assured Guaranty’s payout ratio is 9.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on AGO. StockNews.com raised shares of Assured Guaranty from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Assured Guaranty from $92.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Assured Guaranty from $87.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th.

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.