AlphaCrest Capital Management LLC Sells 1,044 Shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG)

AlphaCrest Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG – Get Rating) by 35.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,916 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 1,044 shares during the quarter. AlphaCrest Capital Management LLC’s holdings in American Financial Group were worth $236,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Zacks Investment Management raised its position in shares of American Financial Group by 35.1% during the 3rd quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 26,537 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,262,000 after purchasing an additional 6,895 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in shares of American Financial Group by 102.7% during the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 63,134 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $7,762,000 after purchasing an additional 31,981 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in shares of American Financial Group by 84.3% during the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 633,459 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $77,871,000 after purchasing an additional 289,733 shares in the last quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC lifted its holdings in American Financial Group by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 20,386 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,506,000 after purchasing an additional 823 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in American Financial Group by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 243,247 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $29,902,000 after purchasing an additional 1,125 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.04% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of American Financial Group from $162.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on American Financial Group from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on American Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, January 19th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $155.00 price objective for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Financial Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $162.75.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider John B. Berding sold 5,417 shares of American Financial Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.62, for a total transaction of $740,070.54. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 36,083 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,929,659.46. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 14.60% of the company’s stock.

American Financial Group Price Performance

AFG stock opened at $122.23 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $10.41 billion, a PE ratio of 11.61 and a beta of 0.84. American Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $119.01 and a 12 month high of $152.29. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $136.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $135.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 2nd. The insurance provider reported $2.99 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.95 by $0.04. American Financial Group had a return on equity of 23.52% and a net margin of 12.76%. The firm had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.55 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.12 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 11.7 earnings per share for the current year.

American Financial Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a None dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 15th were given a dividend of $4.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 14th. American Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.93%.

American Financial Group Company Profile

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American Financial Group, Inc is an insurance holding company. It engages in property and casualty insurance, focusing on commercial products for businesses, and in the sale of fixed and fixed-indexed annuities in the retail, financial institutions and education markets. The company was founded by Carl Henry Lindner Jr.