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

Key Points

• Advisors Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in American Financial Group by 55.5% in the first quarter, holding 2,557 shares valued at $336,000 after selling 3,187 shares.
• Several hedge funds, including Charles Schwab Investment Management and SG Americas Securities, increased their positions in American Financial Group, with Schwab lifting its stake by 395.5%.
• American Financial Group's stock received a consensus rating of "Hold" from analysts, while the company's latest quarterly earnings surpassed expectations with an EPS of $2.14.

Advisors Asset Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG - Free Report) by 55.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,557 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 3,187 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in American Financial Group were worth $336,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings 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 valued at $331,071,000 after acquiring an additional 2,012,027 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in American Financial Group in the first quarter valued at about $30,442,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in American Financial Group by 112.5% in the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 327,621 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $43,030,000 after purchasing an additional 173,452 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in American Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $20,675,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in American Financial Group by 6,414.6% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 129,967 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $17,070,000 after purchasing an additional 127,972 shares during the last quarter. 64.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on AFG shares. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of American Financial Group from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of American Financial Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $136.75.

American Financial Group Stock Performance

NYSE:AFG traded up $0.34 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $139.02. 573,620 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 424,119. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.28 and a beta of 0.73. American Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $114.73 and a 52-week high of $150.19. 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's 50 day moving average price is $131.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $127.58.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The insurance provider reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.56 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.5 earnings per share for the current year.

American Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 15th were given a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. American Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Stephen Craig Lindner, Jr. sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director owned 326,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,883,106.30. This represents a 2.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 17.40% of the company's stock.

American Financial Group Company 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.