TCW Group Inc. Buys 1,231 Shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO)

TCW Group Inc. boosted its position in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO) by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,232 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,231 shares during the period. TCW Group Inc.’s holdings in Assured Guaranty were worth $1,529,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Assured Guaranty by 293.6% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 126,673 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,773,000 after buying an additional 94,486 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Assured Guaranty in the second quarter valued at approximately $870,000. Algert Global LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Assured Guaranty during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,691,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new position in Assured Guaranty in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,088,000. Finally, Reinhart Partners LLC. boosted its holdings in Assured Guaranty by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 977,758 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $77,751,000 after buying an additional 71,114 shares during the period. 92.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Assured Guaranty from $92.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. StockNews.com upgraded Assured Guaranty from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Assured Guaranty from $87.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th.

Assured Guaranty Stock Performance

NYSE AGO opened at $90.70 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $87.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $81.63. 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 $71.11 and a 1 year high of $96.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.62 billion, a PE ratio of 7.05 and a beta of 1.11.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $1.00. Assured Guaranty had a return on equity of 11.58% and a net margin of 70.37%. The company had revenue of $269.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $202.57 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.42 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 33.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assured Guaranty Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd were given a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. Assured Guaranty’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.63%.

Insider Activity at Assured Guaranty

In other news, Director Yukiko Omura sold 3,599 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.73, for a total transaction of $286,948.27. Following the sale, the director now owns 19,285 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,537,593.05. This trade represents a 15.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 5.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.