HighTower Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in American Financial Group, Inc. $AFG

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC increased its ownership of American Financial Group by 39.1%, acquiring an additional 5,340 shares, bringing its total holdings to 18,998 shares valued at approximately $2.5 million.
• Multiple institutional investors raised their stakes in American Financial Group, collectively owning 64.37% of the company's stock, indicating strong interest from the investment community.
• American Financial Group reported better-than-expected earnings of $2.14 EPS for the quarter, exceeding forecasts, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.80.

HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG - Free Report) by 39.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,998 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 5,340 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in American Financial Group were worth $2,495,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AFG. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 395.5% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,520,714 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $331,071,000 after buying an additional 2,012,027 shares during the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 89.5% during the fourth quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 672,851 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $92,134,000 after buying an additional 317,859 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Financial Group during the first quarter worth about $30,442,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 35.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 802,069 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $109,827,000 after buying an additional 211,630 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in American Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $20,675,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.37% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Stephen Craig Lindner, Jr. sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.31, for a total transaction of $1,343,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 326,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at $43,883,106.30. The trade was a 2.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 17.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AFG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on American Financial Group from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on American Financial Group from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised American Financial Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $136.75.

American Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of AFG stock traded up $0.68 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $134.27. 422,273 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 499,653. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $127.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $125.94. American Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $114.73 and a 1-year 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 firm has a market cap of $11.20 billion, a PE ratio of 14.75 and a beta of 0.74.

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

American Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th were paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. American Financial Group's payout ratio 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.