Coldstream Capital Management Inc. Sells 227 Shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO)

Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO) by 6.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,358 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 227 shares during the quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Assured Guaranty were worth $267,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AGO. LRI Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Assured Guaranty by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 292,867 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $22,595,000 after acquiring an additional 9,971 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Assured Guaranty by 5.1% in the second quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 44,814 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,457,000 after purchasing an additional 2,169 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in shares of Assured Guaranty by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 12,466 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $962,000 after acquiring an additional 359 shares during the period. Sage Rhino Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Assured Guaranty by 5.7% during the second quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC now owns 2,917 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $225,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its position in Assured Guaranty by 2.7% in the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 6,042 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $466,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the period. 92.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Assured Guaranty news, Director Yukiko Omura sold 3,599 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.73, for a total transaction of $286,948.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 19,285 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,537,593.05. This represents a 15.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 5.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AGO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Assured Guaranty from $92.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Assured Guaranty from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Assured Guaranty from $87.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th.

Assured Guaranty Stock Performance

Shares of Assured Guaranty stock opened at $90.27 on Tuesday. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a 52 week low of $71.41 and a 52 week high of $96.60. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $87.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $81.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.01 and a beta of 1.11.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $1.00. Assured Guaranty had a net margin of 70.37% and a return on equity of 11.58%. The company had revenue of $269.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $202.57 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.42 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 33.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 7.3 EPS for the current year.

Assured Guaranty Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd were given a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.37%. Assured Guaranty’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.63%.

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.