Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 9,113 Shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans decreased its position in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO) by 14.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 54,947 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 9,113 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned approximately 0.11% of Assured Guaranty worth $4,946,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AGO. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Assured Guaranty during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in Assured Guaranty in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position 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 in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Assured Guaranty by 100.6% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 684 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Assured Guaranty in the 4th quarter worth $97,000. 92.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Assured Guaranty Trading Up 2.7 %

Shares of NYSE:AGO opened at $87.71 on Tuesday. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a 1 year low of $72.57 and a 1 year high of $96.50. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $90.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $87.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company has a market cap of $4.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.82 and a beta of 1.11.

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

Assured Guaranty Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. 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 yield of 1.55%. Assured Guaranty’s payout ratio is currently 19.94%.

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.