Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Has $490,000 Holdings in Assured Guaranty Ltd. $AGO

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO) by 12.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,623 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 628 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Assured Guaranty were worth $490,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AGO. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Assured Guaranty during the 1st quarter valued at $293,632,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Assured Guaranty by 12.1% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,012,552 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $89,206,000 after buying an additional 109,282 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired a new position in Assured Guaranty during the first quarter valued at $5,920,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its position in Assured Guaranty by 47.9% during the first quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 176,354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $15,537,000 after buying an additional 57,116 shares during the period. Finally, Strs Ohio acquired a new position in Assured Guaranty during the first quarter valued at $4,775,000. 92.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Assured Guaranty Stock Performance

Shares of AGO stock opened at $80.57 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $82.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $83.96. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $74.09 and a fifty-two week high of $96.50. The firm has a market cap of $3.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.90 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by ($0.56). Assured Guaranty had a return on equity of 7.18% and a net margin of 44.53%.The firm had revenue of $281.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $203.91 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.44 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 39.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assured Guaranty Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Assured Guaranty’s dividend payout ratio is 15.03%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AGO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Assured Guaranty from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Zacks Research upgraded Assured Guaranty from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Assured Guaranty in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Assured Guaranty from $95.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Assured Guaranty currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $98.50.

Insider Transactions at Assured Guaranty

In other news, major shareholder Guaranty Ltd Assured sold 6,258 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.90, for a total transaction of $105,760.20. Following the transaction, the insider owned 5,282,994 shares in the company, valued at $89,282,598.60. This represents a 0.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Robert Bailenson sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.51, for a total transaction of $3,260,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 291,728 shares in the company, valued at $23,778,749.28. The trade was a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 81,827 shares of company stock worth $5,645,401 in the last 90 days. 5.10% of the stock is 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.