Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Sells 5,572 Shares of American Financial Group, Inc. $AFG

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. cut its position in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) by 12.6% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 38,750 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 5,572 shares during the quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.’s holdings in American Financial Group were worth $5,647,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in American Financial Group by 72.5% during the second quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 57,894 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $7,249,000 after acquiring an additional 24,334 shares in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new position in shares of American Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,790,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 16.7% during the 2nd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 64,591 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $8,152,000 after purchasing an additional 9,263 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its position in shares of American Financial Group by 10.3% during the second quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 306,080 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $38,630,000 after purchasing an additional 28,626 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth increased its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 50.5% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 41,374 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $5,434,000 after purchasing an additional 13,886 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.37% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Financial Group news, CFO Brian S. Hertzman sold 1,777 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.51, for a total transaction of $253,240.27. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 11,300 shares in the company, valued at $1,610,363. The trade was a 13.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 17.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

American Financial Group Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of AFG stock opened at $135.01 on Friday. American Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $114.73 and a 1 year high of $150.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $136.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $134.48. The company has a market cap of $11.26 billion, a PE ratio of 14.18 and a beta of 0.70.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The insurance provider reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.35 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $2.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.02 billion. American Financial Group had a return on equity of 18.05% and a net margin of 9.66%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.31 EPS. Research analysts predict that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.5 earnings per share for the current year.

American Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 15th. American Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently 36.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of American Financial Group in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen raised American Financial Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 13th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $142.00 target price on shares of American Financial Group in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of American Financial Group from $130.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $135.00.

American Financial Group Company Profile

American Financial Group, Inc (NYSE: AFG) is a diversified holding company primarily engaged in property and casualty insurance and reinsurance. Through its flagship subsidiary, Great American Insurance Company, the firm underwrites a broad range of specialty insurance products for commercial and industrial clients, including inland marine, excess and surplus lines, executive liability, and environmental liability coverage. In addition, American Financial Group offers supplemental accident and health insurance and assumes reinsurance risks from other insurers, helping to diversify its underwriting portfolio.

The company traces its roots to 1946, when it was founded by Carl Lindner, Sr.