Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Sells 377 Shares of American Financial Group, Inc. $AFG

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. reduced its position in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) by 0.8% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 44,322 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 377 shares during the quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.’s holdings in American Financial Group were worth $5,594,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AFG. Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in American Financial Group by 144.3% in the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 215 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in American Financial Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in American Financial Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $55,000. IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in American Financial Group by 86.7% in the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 422 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new stake in American Financial Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $68,000. 64.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Financial Group Trading Down 1.6%

AFG stock opened at $130.91 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.92 billion, a PE ratio of 14.39 and a beta of 0.74. American Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $114.73 and a one year high of $150.19. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $138.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $130.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.47.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The insurance provider reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.77 billion. American Financial Group had a net margin of 9.21% and a return on equity of 17.41%. The business’s revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.56 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 15th were paid a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 15th. This is a positive change from American Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. American Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently 38.68%.

Insider Activity at American Financial Group

In related news, Director Stephen Craig Lindner, Jr. sold 10,000 shares of American Financial Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.31, for a total value of $1,343,100.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 326,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,883,106.30. The trade was a 2.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 17.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AFG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of American Financial Group from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of American Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of American Financial Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of American Financial Group from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, American Financial Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $136.75.

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.