American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) Shares Purchased by Arizona State Retirement System

Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 20,714 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 290 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in American Financial Group were worth $2,836,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC grew its holdings 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 lifted its position 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 buying an additional 104,172 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in American Financial Group by 10.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,553,207 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $208,699,000 after buying an additional 143,820 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of American Financial Group by 26.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 997,340 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $136,566,000 after acquiring an additional 207,285 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH raised its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 607,677 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $83,209,000 after acquiring an additional 3,580 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.37% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on AFG shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut shares of American Financial Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $164.00 to $144.00 in a research report on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on American Financial Group from $135.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on 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 Trading Down 0.7 %

AFG opened at $127.12 on Monday. 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 capitalization of $10.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.03 and a beta of 0.79. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $130.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $134.49. American Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $118.97 and a 12 month high of $150.19.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last released its 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 return on equity of 20.30% and a net margin of 10.66%. Sell-side analysts expect that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a special dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $2.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. American Financial Group’s payout ratio is 30.27%.

Insider Activity at American Financial Group

In other news, Director Gregory G. Joseph purchased 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $121.00 per share, for a total transaction of $363,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 57,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,954,717. This represents a 5.51 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 14.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About American Financial Group

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.