American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) Shares Sold by Qsemble Capital Management LP

Qsemble Capital Management LP lessened its stake in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) by 60.8% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,675 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 2,598 shares during the period. Qsemble Capital Management LP’s holdings in American Financial Group were worth $206,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in American Financial Group by 11.0% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 97,592 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $12,006,000 after acquiring an additional 9,697 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. increased its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 8.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 492,021 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $60,528,000 after purchasing an additional 38,937 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in American Financial Group during the second quarter worth $38,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its position in American Financial Group by 4.3% during the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 4,874 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $600,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Texas Permanent School Fund Corp increased its holdings in American Financial Group by 56.0% in the second quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 89,076 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $10,958,000 after buying an additional 31,982 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.37% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Citigroup lowered shares of American Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $144.00 to $137.00 in a research note on Friday, June 28th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Amy Y. Murray bought 1,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 28th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $125.17 per share, for a total transaction of $150,204.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $150,204. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 14.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

American Financial Group Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of AFG stock opened at $134.27 on Friday. American Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $105.22 and a 1-year high of $137.95. The company has a market cap of $11.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.85 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.46 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $128.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $128.87.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The insurance provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.45 by $0.11. American Financial Group had a net margin of 11.06% and a return on equity of 21.16%. The business had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.72 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.38 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Investors of record on Monday, July 15th were issued a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 15th. American Financial Group’s payout ratio is 27.18%.

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.