HighTower Advisors LLC Raises Holdings 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 boosted its holdings in shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG - Free Report) by 39.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,998 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing 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 large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American Financial Group Inc. 401 K Retirement & Savings Plan increased its stake in American Financial Group by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. American Financial Group Inc. 401 K Retirement & Savings Plan now owns 2,616,928 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $343,707,000 after acquiring an additional 23,228 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 2,012,027 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in American Financial Group by 35.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 802,069 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $109,827,000 after acquiring an additional 211,630 shares during the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC increased its stake in American Financial Group by 89.5% in the 4th quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 672,851 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $92,134,000 after acquiring an additional 317,859 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its stake in American Financial Group by 8.8% in the 1st quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 503,221 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $66,093,000 after acquiring an additional 40,822 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.37% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

American Financial Group Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE AFG traded up $0.53 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $136.62. 429,384 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 461,099. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.01 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company's 50 day moving average price is $128.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $126.14. American Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $114.73 and a 12 month high of $150.19.

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

American Financial Group Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Financial Group news, Director Stephen Craig Lindner, Jr. sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $43,883,106.30. This represents a 2.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 17.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About American Financial Group

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.