Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 4,879 Shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 921,536 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,879 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Assured Guaranty were worth $82,951,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AGO. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. bought a new stake in Assured Guaranty during the 4th quarter worth approximately $220,000. ARGA Investment Management LP grew its stake in shares of Assured Guaranty by 34.7% in the 4th quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 6,852 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $617,000 after buying an additional 1,765 shares in the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. bought a new stake in Assured Guaranty during the fourth quarter worth approximately $212,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Assured Guaranty during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $97,000. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its position in Assured Guaranty by 69.9% during the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 49,843 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,486,000 after acquiring an additional 20,501 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.22% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Assured Guaranty Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of AGO opened at $91.76 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.13 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a 1-year low of $72.57 and a 1-year high of $96.60. The company has a 50-day moving average of $90.73 and a 200 day moving average of $85.86.

Assured Guaranty Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be issued a $0.34 dividend. This is a positive change from Assured Guaranty’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.48%. Assured Guaranty’s payout ratio is presently 9.63%.

About Assured Guaranty

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.