Erste Asset Management GmbH Has $219,000 Stake in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG)

Erste Asset Management GmbH decreased its position in shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) by 11.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,600 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in American Financial Group were worth $219,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC increased 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 increased its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,693,356 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $362,526,000 after purchasing an additional 104,172 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,553,207 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $208,699,000 after purchasing an additional 143,820 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 26.2% during the 4th 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. Finally, Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH increased its stake in American Financial Group by 0.6% in the fourth 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 own 64.37% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Financial Group

In other news, Director Gregory G. Joseph purchased 3,000 shares of American Financial Group 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 57,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,954,717. This represents a 5.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through 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 lowered their target price for the company from $164.00 to $144.00 in a research note on Friday, February 7th.

American Financial Group Stock Performance

NYSE AFG opened at $127.25 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $10.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.04 and a beta of 0.79. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $129.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $134.27. American Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $118.97 and a twelve month high of $150.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

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 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a special dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $2.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. American Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.27%.

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.