HighTower Advisors LLC Purchases 5,340 Shares of American Financial Group, Inc. $AFG

HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) by 39.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 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 reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. American Financial Group Inc. 401 K Retirement & Savings Plan grew its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 0.9% during the first 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 buying an additional 23,228 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in American Financial Group by 395.5% during 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 grew its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 35.8% during 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 in the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 89.5% in the fourth quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 672,851 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $92,134,000 after purchasing an additional 317,859 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its position in shares of American Financial Group by 8.8% in the first quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 503,221 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $66,093,000 after purchasing an additional 40,822 shares in the last quarter. 64.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Financial Group Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:AFG opened at $134.6320 on Friday. American Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $114.73 and a 52-week high of $150.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.47. The company has a market capitalization of $11.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.79 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $127.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $125.92.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.56 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th were issued 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 yield of 2.4%. American Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of American Financial Group from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of American Financial Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $136.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Financial Group 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 transaction of $1,343,100.00. Following the completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 17.40% of the stock is currently 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.