Shell Asset Management Co. Sells 246 Shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO)

Shell Asset Management Co. cut its holdings in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO) by 3.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,121 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 246 shares during the period. Shell Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Assured Guaranty were worth $621,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AGO. Norges Bank bought a new position in Assured Guaranty in the 4th quarter worth $41,609,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of Assured Guaranty by 1,990.0% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 60,839 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,308,000 after acquiring an additional 57,928 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in Assured Guaranty by 63.1% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 124,404 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,854,000 after acquiring an additional 48,125 shares in the last quarter. Gendell Jeffrey L bought a new stake in Assured Guaranty during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,001,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Assured Guaranty during the first quarter valued at approximately $2,818,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.22% of the company’s stock.

Assured Guaranty Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AGO traded up $1.02 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $82.00. 52,474 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 399,830. The stock has a market cap of $4.46 billion, a PE ratio of 6.34 and a beta of 1.11. The business’s fifty day moving average is $77.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.11. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a one year low of $56.77 and a one year high of $96.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.55. The business had revenue of $245.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $194.78 million. Assured Guaranty had a net margin of 57.45% and a return on equity of 12.48%. The business’s revenue was down 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.12 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 6.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Assured Guaranty Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.51%. This is a boost from Assured Guaranty’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 14th. Assured Guaranty’s dividend payout ratio is 9.58%.

Insider Transactions at Assured Guaranty

In related news, CAO Laura Bieling sold 3,901 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.93, for a total value of $311,806.93. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 16,036 shares in the company, valued at $1,281,757.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CAO Laura Bieling sold 3,901 shares of Assured Guaranty stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.93, for a total value of $311,806.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 16,036 shares in the company, valued at $1,281,757.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dominic Frederico sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.12, for a total value of $3,124,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,410,824 shares in the company, valued at $110,213,570.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 73,901 shares of company stock valued at $5,834,807 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 5.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on AGO. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Assured Guaranty from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $87.00 to $92.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective on shares of Assured Guaranty in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th.

Assured Guaranty Company 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.