Intech Investment Management LLC Decreases Stake in 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 decreased its holdings in shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG - Free Report) by 41.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund 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 have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in American Financial Group by 10.8% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 59,633 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $7,832,000 after purchasing an additional 5,799 shares during the last quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in American Financial Group during the first quarter worth approximately $282,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new stake in American Financial Group during the first quarter worth approximately $1,370,000. Private Trust Co. NA increased its position in American Financial Group by 144.3% during the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 215 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the period. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position in American Financial Group by 10.5% during the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,427 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $713,000 after buying an additional 514 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.37% of the company's stock.

American Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AFG traded up $0.55 during trading on Friday, reaching $141.34. The company had a trading volume of 1,253,293 shares, compared to its average volume of 434,065. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.53 and a beta of 0.73. 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 stock's fifty day moving average price is $132.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $127.77. American Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $114.73 and a fifty-two week 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.5 EPS for the current year.

American Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 15th were paid a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 payout ratio is 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 that occurred 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 sale, the director directly owned 326,730 shares in the company, valued at $43,883,106.30. The trade was a 2.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 17.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on AFG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on 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. Wall Street Zen raised American Financial Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, September 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on American Financial Group from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $136.75.

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.