Alliancebernstein L.P. Has $146.26 Million Stock Position in 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, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,068,110 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 25,235 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P.’s holdings in American Financial Group were worth $146,256,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 91.2% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 520 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew 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 purchasing an additional 527 shares during the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Financial Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $125,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in American Financial Group by 31.6% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,059 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $145,000 after buying an additional 254 shares during the last quarter. 64.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Financial Group Price Performance

American Financial Group stock opened at $132.19 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $127.93 and its 200 day moving average is $133.77. American Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $118.97 and a one year high of $150.19. The firm has a market cap of $11.10 billion, a P/E 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.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The insurance provider reported $3.12 earnings per share (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 year.

American Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.42%. American Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.27%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Financial Group news, Director Gregory G. Joseph purchased 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $121.00 per share, for a total transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 14.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut shares of American Financial Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $164.00 to $144.00 in a research report 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.