Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 9,113 Shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lessened its holdings in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO) by 14.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 54,947 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 9,113 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Assured Guaranty were worth $4,946,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Assured Guaranty by 46.3% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 471 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in Assured Guaranty in the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Assured Guaranty by 100.6% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 684 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares during the period. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Assured Guaranty during the fourth quarter valued at $97,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew 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 valued at $135,000 after purchasing an additional 1,418 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.22% of the company’s stock.

Assured Guaranty Stock Up 2.7 %

NYSE AGO opened at $87.71 on Tuesday. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a 52 week low of $72.57 and a 52 week high of $96.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market capitalization of $4.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.82 and a beta of 1.11. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $90.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $87.57.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.34 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $199.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $199.56 million. Assured Guaranty had a net margin of 70.37% and a return on equity of 11.58%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Assured Guaranty Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. This is a boost from Assured Guaranty’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.55%. Assured Guaranty’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.