Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Makes New $1.36 Million Investment in American Financial Group, Inc. $AFG

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new stake in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 9,702 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,358,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 11.1% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 75,421 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $9,905,000 after purchasing an additional 7,554 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of American Financial Group in the first quarter worth about $2,330,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 145.8% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,278 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $168,000 after purchasing an additional 758 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in American Financial Group by 144.8% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 793 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $100,000 after purchasing an additional 469 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in American Financial Group by 62.4% during the 2nd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 2,941 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $371,000 after purchasing an additional 1,130 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.37% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at American Financial Group

In related news, SVP Michelle A. Gillis sold 2,247 shares of American Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.00, for a total transaction of $312,333.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 13,135 shares in the company, valued at $1,825,765. The trade was a 14.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider David Lawrence Thompson, Jr. sold 11,370 shares of American Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.05, for a total value of $1,535,518.50. Following the sale, the insider owned 584,098 shares in the company, valued at $78,882,434.90. This represents a 1.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 16,430 shares of company stock valued at $2,255,061. Corporate insiders own 16.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AFG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler upped their price target on American Financial Group from $140.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on American Financial Group from $158.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings raised American Financial Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded American Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on American Financial Group from $148.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $156.00.

American Financial Group Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of AFG opened at $143.70 on Wednesday. American Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.09 and a 1-year high of $150.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $141.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $134.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.56 and a beta of 0.62.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The insurance provider reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.32 by $0.50. American Financial Group had a net margin of 11.51% and a return on equity of 20.35%. The company had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.14 earnings per share. American Financial Group’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 11.87 EPS for the current year.

American Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 15th were issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 15th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. American Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is 30.77%.

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.