Advisors Asset Management Inc. Lowers Stock Position in American Financial Group, Inc. $AFG

Advisors Asset Management Inc. lessened its holdings in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) by 55.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,557 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 3,187 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in American Financial Group were worth $336,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AFG. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of American Financial Group by 395.5% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,520,714 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $331,071,000 after purchasing an additional 2,012,027 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Financial Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,442,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of American Financial Group by 112.5% in the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 327,621 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $43,030,000 after purchasing an additional 173,452 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in shares of American Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $20,675,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of American Financial Group by 6,414.6% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 129,967 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $17,070,000 after purchasing an additional 127,972 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.37% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AFG shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of American Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of American Financial Group from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of American Financial Group from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Financial Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $136.75.

Insider Activity

In other American Financial Group news, Director Stephen Craig Lindner, Jr. sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.31, for a total value of $1,343,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 326,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,883,106.30. This trade represents a 2.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 17.40% of the company’s stock.

American Financial Group Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of AFG stock opened at $140.24 on Friday. American Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $114.73 and a 1-year high of $150.19. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $130.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $127.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.47 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The company has a market cap of $11.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.41 and a beta of 0.73.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The insurance provider reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.77 billion. American Financial Group had a net margin of 9.21% and a return on equity of 17.41%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.56 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th were issued a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. American Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.16%.

American Financial Group Profile

American Financial Group, Inc, an insurance holding company, provides specialty property and casualty insurance products in the United States. The company offers property and transportation insurance products, such as physical damage and liability coverage for buses and trucks, inland and ocean marine, agricultural-related products, and other commercial property and specialty transportation coverages; specialty casualty insurance, including primarily excess and surplus, executive and professional liability, general liability, umbrella and excess liability, and specialty coverage in targeted markets, as well as customized programs for small to mid-sized businesses and workers’ compensation insurance; and specialty financial insurance products comprising risk management insurance programs for lending and leasing institutions, fidelity and surety products, and trade credit insurance.