American International Group Inc. Trims Stake in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO)

American International Group Inc. lowered its position in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO) by 13.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,803 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 570 shares during the quarter. American International Group Inc.’s holdings in Assured Guaranty were worth $212,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AGO. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Assured Guaranty in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in Assured Guaranty in the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Assured Guaranty by 106.0% in the 1st quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 651 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 335 shares during the period. Archer Investment Corp purchased a new position in Assured Guaranty in the 1st quarter worth about $56,000. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Assured Guaranty in the 2nd quarter worth about $94,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.77% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Assured Guaranty news, CFO Robert Bailenson sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.33, for a total transaction of $583,300.00. Following the transaction, 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Robert Bailenson sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 24th. The shares were 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Dominic Frederico sold 29,977 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.13, for a total transaction of $1,832,494.01. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,371,016 shares in the company, valued at $83,810,208.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.82% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AGO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Assured Guaranty in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Assured Guaranty from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday.

Assured Guaranty Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of Assured Guaranty stock opened at $66.43 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a 1 year low of $45.21 and a 1 year high of $67.25. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $62.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.38. The stock has a market cap of $3.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.83 and a beta of 1.08.

Assured Guaranty Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 14th. Assured Guaranty’s payout ratio is 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.