Voya Investment Management LLC Has $3.62 Million Stock Holdings in American Financial Group, Inc. $AFG

Key Points

• Voya Investment Management LLC significantly reduced its stake in American Financial Group by 95.9%, holding only 27,578 shares worth approximately $3.62 million at the end of the first quarter.
• Several other institutional investors, including Envestnet Asset Management and Sowell Financial Services, have either increased their positions or initiated new stakes in American Financial Group.
• American Financial Group's latest earnings report showed a quarterly EPS of $2.14, beating estimates, while it also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.80 per share.

Voya Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG - Free Report) by 95.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 27,578 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 645,273 shares during the quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC's holdings in American Financial Group were worth $3,622,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in American Financial Group by 10.8% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 59,633 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $7,832,000 after acquiring an additional 5,799 shares during the period. Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Financial Group in the first quarter worth $282,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new position in American Financial Group during the 1st quarter worth about $1,370,000. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in American Financial Group by 144.3% during the 1st 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. lifted its holdings in 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 worth $713,000 after buying an additional 514 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.37% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AFG has been the subject 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 for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of American Financial Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, September 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped 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 note on Monday, August 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $136.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Financial Group news, Director Stephen Craig Lindner, Jr. sold 10,000 shares of the business'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 approximately $43,883,106.30. The trade was a 2.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 17.40% of the company's stock.

American Financial Group Stock Up 0.4%

AFG opened at $141.34 on Friday. 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 is $132.10 and its 200 day moving average 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.53 and a beta of 0.73.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The insurance provider reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.56 EPS. Research analysts expect 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th were issued a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. American Financial Group's dividend 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.

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