Intech Investment Management LLC Purchases 118,170 Shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO)

Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO) by 236.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 168,141 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 118,170 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Assured Guaranty were worth $15,134,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Assured Guaranty in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in Assured Guaranty in the 3rd quarter valued at about $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 valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Assured Guaranty by 46.3% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 471 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the period. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Assured Guaranty by 100.6% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 684 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 343 shares during the period. 92.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Assured Guaranty Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of AGO opened at $87.30 on Tuesday. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a 12 month low of $72.57 and a 12 month high of $96.50. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $90.20 and its 200-day moving average is $87.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.37 billion, a PE ratio of 6.78 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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). The firm had revenue of $199.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $199.56 million. Assured Guaranty had a return on equity of 11.58% and a net margin of 70.37%. Equities research analysts forecast that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 7.3 EPS for the current year.

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 given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This is a positive change from Assured Guaranty’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. Assured Guaranty’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Assured Guaranty from $92.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Assured Guaranty from $87.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th.

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.