Natixis Advisors L.P. Trims Stock Holdings in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO)

Natixis Advisors L.P. decreased its position in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO) by 28.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,983 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,485 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P.’s holdings in Assured Guaranty were worth $703,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Assured Guaranty by 27.0% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 425,289 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,379,000 after purchasing an additional 90,503 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in Assured Guaranty by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 162,111 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,149,000 after purchasing an additional 5,076 shares during the period. Cambria Investment Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Assured Guaranty during the 1st quarter worth about $7,734,000. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC acquired a new stake in Assured Guaranty during the 1st quarter worth about $395,000. Finally, Credit Suisse AG grew its position in Assured Guaranty by 7.9% during the 1st quarter. Credit Suisse AG now owns 96,733 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,863,000 after purchasing an additional 7,056 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.77% of the company’s stock.

Assured Guaranty Price Performance

NYSE:AGO opened at $59.18 on Thursday. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a 52 week low of $45.21 and a 52 week high of $67.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.47 billion, a PE ratio of 11.60 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $58.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $55.30.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by ($0.54). Assured Guaranty had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 4.73%. The business had revenue of $206.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $172.20 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 3.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assured Guaranty Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 16th were issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 15th. Assured Guaranty’s payout ratio is 21.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Robert Bailenson sold 10,000 shares of Assured Guaranty stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.33, for a total value of $583,300.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 296,936 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,320,276.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 4.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com assumed coverage on Assured Guaranty in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock.

Assured Guaranty Company Profile

Assured Guaranty Ltd., through its subsidiaries, provides credit protection products to public finance, infrastructure, and structured finance markets in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Insurance and Asset Management. It offers financial guaranty insurance that protects holders of debt instruments and other monetary obligations from defaults in scheduled payments.