Quadrature Capital Ltd Sells 8,532 Shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG)

Quadrature Capital Ltd lowered its position in shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) by 48.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,052 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 8,532 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd’s holdings in American Financial Group were worth $1,234,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of American Financial Group by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 46,704 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $6,374,000 after buying an additional 1,132 shares during the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC raised its holdings in American Financial Group by 360.7% during the 1st quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 27,155 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,706,000 after purchasing an additional 21,261 shares during the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd lifted its position in shares of American Financial Group by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 1,000 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $136,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of American Financial Group by 21.4% during the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 4,013 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $548,000 after buying an additional 707 shares during the period. Finally, Bahl & Gaynor Inc. raised its stake in American Financial Group by 7.1% during the first quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 453,084 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $61,837,000 after buying an additional 29,922 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.37% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Amy Y. Murray bought 1,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 28th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $125.17 per share, for a total transaction of $150,204.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 1,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $150,204. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 14.50% of the company’s stock.

American Financial Group Stock Performance

AFG traded up $3.30 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $128.00. The stock had a trading volume of 217,488 shares, compared to its average volume of 322,333. American Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $105.22 and a 1 year high of $137.71. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $126.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $126.65. The stock has a market cap of $10.74 billion, a PE ratio of 12.25 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The insurance provider reported $2.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.70 by $0.06. American Financial Group had a return on equity of 21.34% and a net margin of 11.03%. The company had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.89 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.89 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.93 earnings per share for the current year.

American Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Investors of record on Monday, July 15th were issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 15th. American Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.18%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AFG. Citigroup downgraded American Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $144.00 to $137.00 in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of American Financial Group from $129.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $131.75.

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.