Intech Investment Management LLC Sells 15,822 Shares of American Financial Group, Inc. $AFG

Key Points

• Intech Investment Management LLC has reduced its holdings in American Financial Group by 41.0%, selling 15,822 shares and now owning 22,801 shares valued at approximately $2.99 million.
• American Financial Group's recent quarterly earnings surpassed analysts' estimates with $2.14 earnings per share, although revenue fell short at $1.65 billion.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.80, resulting in an annualized yield of 2.3%.

Intech Investment Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG - Free Report) by 41.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,801 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 15,822 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC's holdings in American Financial Group were worth $2,995,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 10.8% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 59,633 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $7,832,000 after buying an additional 5,799 shares in the last quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Financial Group during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $282,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new stake in shares of American Financial Group during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,370,000. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 144.3% during the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 215 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 10.5% during the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,427 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $713,000 after buying an additional 514 shares in the last quarter. 64.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Financial Group Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of AFG opened at $139.81 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $11.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.36 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.47. American Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $114.73 and a fifty-two week high of $150.19. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $130.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $127.33.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion during 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.56 EPS. As a group, equities 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 firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th were issued a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 15th. American Financial Group's payout ratio is presently 35.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Financial Group

In related news, Director Stephen Craig Lindner, Jr. sold 10,000 shares of American Financial Group 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 17.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on AFG. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of American Financial Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of American Financial Group from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, 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 for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $136.75.

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.

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