California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 9,031 Shares of American Financial Group, Inc. $AFG

California Public Employees Retirement System lowered its holdings in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) by 6.2% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 136,737 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 9,031 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in American Financial Group were worth $17,463,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of American Financial Group during the first quarter valued at $2,567,000. UBS Group AG raised its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 581,805 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $79,521,000 after acquiring an additional 53,431 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in American Financial Group by 3,295.3% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 93,270 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $12,748,000 after acquiring an additional 90,523 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in American Financial Group by 59.8% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 18,806 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,570,000 after acquiring an additional 7,040 shares during the period. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in American Financial Group by 377.6% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 49,681 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,790,000 after acquiring an additional 39,279 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.37% of the company’s stock.

American Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of AFG stock opened at $141.09 on Friday. American Financial Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $122.11 and a 12-month high of $150.02. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $136.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $132.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company has a market cap of $11.72 billion, a PE ratio of 13.41 and a beta of 0.62.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.54 by ($0.07). American Financial Group had a return on equity of 19.50% and a net margin of 10.76%.The business had revenue of $1.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.81 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 11.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 15th will be paid a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 15th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. American Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.46%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider David Lawrence Thompson, Jr. sold 11,370 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.05, for a total transaction of $1,535,518.50. Following the sale, the insider owned 584,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $78,882,434.90. The trade was a 1.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michelle A. Gillis sold 2,247 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.00, for a total value of $312,333.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 13,135 shares in the company, valued at $1,825,765. The trade was a 14.61% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 16.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on AFG shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of American Financial Group from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of American Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on American Financial Group from $158.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on American Financial Group from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Financial Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $150.75.

American Financial Group 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.