Independent Advisor Alliance Purchases 223 Shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG)

Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its holdings in shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) by 12.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,015 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying 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.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of American Financial Group by 86.8% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 340 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 91.2% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 520 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 301.1% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 702 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $94,000 after acquiring an additional 527 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American Financial Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $125,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in American Financial Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $130,000. 64.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at American Financial Group

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

American Financial Group Trading Down 0.4 %

AFG stock opened at $125.01 on Thursday. American Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $118.97 and a 12 month high of $150.19. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $128.96 and its 200 day moving average is $134.12. The company has a market capitalization of $10.50 billion, a PE ratio of 11.83 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.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The insurance provider reported $3.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.15 by ($0.03). American Financial Group had a net margin of 10.66% and a return on equity of 20.30%. On average, research analysts anticipate that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.5 EPS for the current year.

American Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a special dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders 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 payout ratio is 30.27%.

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.