Marshall Wace LLP Makes New Investment in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG)

Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 24,385 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,339,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in American Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $122,419,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of American Financial Group by 26.2% in 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 purchasing an additional 207,285 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 78.3% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 333,078 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $44,832,000 after purchasing an additional 146,237 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of American Financial Group by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,287,861 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,134,857,000 after purchasing an additional 99,560 shares during the period. Finally, Bridges Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 966.7% during the 4th quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 70,391 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $9,639,000 after buying an additional 63,792 shares in the last quarter. 64.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Gregory G. Joseph acquired 3,000 shares of American Financial Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $121.00 per share, with a total value of $363,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 57,477 shares in the company, valued at $6,954,717. The trade was a 5.51 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 17.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on American Financial Group from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th.

American Financial Group Trading Down 2.1 %

American Financial Group stock opened at $126.39 on Friday. American Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $114.73 and a 1 year high of $150.19. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $125.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $132.43. 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 has a market cap of $10.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.96 and a beta of 0.59.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last posted its 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, equities analysts predict 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th were given a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.53%. American Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.27%.

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.