Edgestream Partners L.P. Sells 7,727 Shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO)

Edgestream Partners L.P. lowered its holdings in shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO) by 19.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,898 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,727 shares during the quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P.’s holdings in Assured Guaranty were worth $2,961,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Assured Guaranty in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Gladius Capital Management LP bought a new position in Assured Guaranty in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in Assured Guaranty in the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in Assured Guaranty by 66.6% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 493 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Assured Guaranty by 183.8% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 596 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 386 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Assured Guaranty Stock Performance

NYSE:AGO opened at $85.43 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $90.82 and its 200-day moving average is $87.06. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a 52-week low of $72.57 and a 52-week high of $96.50. 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 company has a market cap of $4.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.64 and a beta of 1.11.

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

Assured Guaranty Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This is an increase from Assured Guaranty’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.59%. Assured Guaranty’s payout ratio 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.