Alliancebernstein L.P. Sells 25,235 Shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG)

Alliancebernstein L.P. cut its stake in shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,068,110 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 25,235 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned 1.27% of American Financial Group worth $146,256,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AFG. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in American Financial Group by 86.8% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 340 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in American Financial Group by 91.2% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 520 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 248 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 301.1% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 702 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $94,000 after buying an additional 527 shares in the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of American Financial Group in the third quarter valued at about $125,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 31.6% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,059 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $145,000 after acquiring an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.37% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at American Financial Group

In other American Financial Group news, Director Gregory G. Joseph purchased 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was bought at an average price of $121.00 per share, with a total value of $363,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 57,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,954,717. This represents a 5.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 14.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

American Financial Group Price Performance

American Financial Group stock opened at $132.19 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $11.10 billion, a PE ratio of 12.51 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.53 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $127.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $133.77. American Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $118.97 and a one year high of $150.19.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The insurance provider reported $3.12 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by ($0.03). American Financial Group had a return on equity of 20.30% and a net margin of 10.66%. As a group, research analysts expect that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.42%. American Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently 30.27%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.