Independent Advisor Alliance Boosts Stock Holdings in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG)

Independent Advisor Alliance grew its position in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) by 12.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,015 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in American Financial Group were worth $276,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC increased its stake in American Financial Group by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,516,351 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $742,501,000 after buying an additional 202,522 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of American Financial Group by 4.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,693,356 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $362,526,000 after acquiring an additional 104,172 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in American Financial Group by 10.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,553,207 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $208,699,000 after acquiring an additional 143,820 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in American Financial Group by 26.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 997,340 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $136,566,000 after acquiring an additional 207,285 shares during the period. Finally, Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH grew its stake in American Financial Group by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 607,677 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $83,209,000 after purchasing an additional 3,580 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.37% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut American Financial Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $164.00 to $144.00 in a research note on Friday, February 7th.

American Financial Group Stock Down 0.4 %

AFG opened at $125.01 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $128.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $134.12. American Financial Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $118.97 and a 52 week high of $150.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock has a market cap of $10.50 billion, a PE ratio of 11.83 and a beta of 0.79.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The insurance provider reported $3.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by ($0.03). American Financial Group had a net margin of 10.66% and a return on equity of 20.30%. As a group, 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 company also recently disclosed a special dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $2.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. American Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Financial Group news, Director Gregory G. Joseph acquired 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $121.00 per share, with a total value of $363,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 57,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,954,717. This represents a 5.51 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 14.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.