Raymond James Financial Inc. Buys New Shares in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 311,746 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $28,060,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Assured Guaranty in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Gladius Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Assured Guaranty during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in Assured Guaranty during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in Assured Guaranty by 66.6% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 493 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Assured Guaranty by 183.8% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 596 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 386 shares during the last quarter. 92.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on AGO shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Assured Guaranty from $92.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. UBS Group lifted their price target on 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 Up 2.6 %

AGO opened at $86.32 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $90.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $87.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a one year low of $72.57 and a one year high of $96.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.71 and a beta of 1.11.

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

Assured Guaranty Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be given a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. This is a boost from Assured Guaranty’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Assured Guaranty’s payout ratio is 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.