Bank of Montreal Can Makes New Investment in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO)

Bank of Montreal Can bought a new stake in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 14,860 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $832,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AGO. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Assured Guaranty in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in Assured Guaranty in the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Assured Guaranty by 106.0% in the 1st quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 651 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. Archer Investment Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Assured Guaranty during the 1st quarter worth approximately $56,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC bought a new position in Assured Guaranty in the first quarter valued at approximately $619,000. 88.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com assumed coverage on Assured Guaranty in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “hold” rating for the company.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Dominic Frederico sold 29,977 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.13, for a total value of $1,832,494.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,371,016 shares in the company, valued at approximately $83,810,208.08. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Assured Guaranty news, CFO Robert Bailenson sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.33, for a total transaction of $583,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 296,936 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,320,276.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dominic Frederico sold 29,977 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.13, for a total value of $1,832,494.01. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,371,016 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $83,810,208.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 49,977 shares of company stock valued at $2,987,694. 4.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Assured Guaranty Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:AGO opened at $65.25 on Tuesday. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a 52-week low of $45.21 and a 52-week high of $67.25. The company has a market capitalization of $3.74 billion, a PE ratio of 8.68 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company has a fifty day moving average of $61.45 and a 200-day moving average of $57.91.

Assured Guaranty Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 15th will be given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 14th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.72%. Assured Guaranty’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.89%.

About Assured Guaranty

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.