California Public Employees Retirement System Raises Stock Position in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG)

California Public Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) by 34.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 180,172 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 45,752 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.22% of American Financial Group worth $21,421,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AFG. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 16.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,710,065 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $525,973,000 after purchasing an additional 654,442 shares during the last quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. raised its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 447.1% during the third quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 259,491 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $28,977,000 after purchasing an additional 212,057 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 1,804.5% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 96,652 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $11,491,000 after purchasing an additional 91,577 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 1.0% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,288,375 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $925,563,000 after purchasing an additional 81,293 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 7.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 838,468 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $93,632,000 after purchasing an additional 56,267 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.37% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AFG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of American Financial Group from $139.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 25th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $129.00 price objective on shares of American Financial Group in a report on Monday, April 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $133.50.

Insider Transactions at American Financial Group

In other news, Director James E. Evans sold 2,274 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.64, for a total transaction of $292,527.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 105,302 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,546,049.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director James E. Evans sold 2,274 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.64, for a total transaction of $292,527.36. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 105,302 shares in the company, valued at $13,546,049.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michelle A. Gillis sold 2,053 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.81, for a total transaction of $260,340.93. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 48,554 shares in the company, valued at $6,157,132.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,843 shares of company stock valued at $1,854,746 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 14.50% of the company’s stock.

American Financial Group Stock Down 1.1 %

AFG stock opened at $127.34 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.67 and a beta of 0.79. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $129.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $120.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. American Financial Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $105.22 and a 52 week high of $137.71.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The insurance provider reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. American Financial Group had a net margin of 10.89% and a return on equity of 22.14%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.99 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th were paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 12th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.23%. American Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.26%.

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.