Amalgamated Bank Sells 585 Shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO)

Amalgamated Bank cut its position in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 585 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Assured Guaranty were worth $1,358,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gladius Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Assured Guaranty in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in Assured Guaranty in the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in Assured Guaranty by 66.6% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 493 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Assured Guaranty by 183.8% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 596 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 386 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Assured Guaranty in the third quarter valued at $60,000. 92.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Assured Guaranty Trading Up 2.8 %

Shares of AGO opened at $89.78 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $91.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $86.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.57 billion, a PE ratio of 6.98 and a beta of 1.11. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a 12-month low of $72.57 and a 12-month 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.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) last released its 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 business had revenue of $199.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $199.56 million. As a group, 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date is 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 1.51%. Assured Guaranty’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.