American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) Shares Acquired by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) by 10.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 17,600 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,600 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in American Financial Group were worth $2,410,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,516,351 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $742,501,000 after purchasing an additional 202,522 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in American Financial Group by 4.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,693,356 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $362,526,000 after purchasing an additional 104,172 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in American Financial Group by 10.2% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,553,207 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $208,699,000 after purchasing an additional 143,820 shares during the last quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH lifted its position in American Financial Group by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 607,677 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $83,209,000 after buying an additional 3,580 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in American Financial Group by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 503,115 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $67,719,000 after buying an additional 39,623 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.37% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on AFG shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded shares of American Financial Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $164.00 to $144.00 in a research note on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of American Financial Group from $135.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of American Financial Group from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th.

American Financial Group Stock Performance

NYSE AFG opened at $120.30 on Tuesday. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $118.97 and a 1-year high of $150.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.38 and a beta of 0.83. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $132.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $134.62.

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

American Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 14th were given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.66%. American Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.27%.

Insider Activity at American Financial Group

In related news, Director Gregory G. Joseph bought 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was bought at an average price of $121.00 per share, with a total value of $363,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly 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 acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 14.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.