Legal & General Group Plc Increases Position in American Financial Group, Inc. $AFG

Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) by 4.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 252,001 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 11,770 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.30% of American Financial Group worth $31,805,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AFG. American Financial Group Inc. 401 K Retirement & Savings Plan boosted its holdings in American Financial Group by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. American Financial Group Inc. 401 K Retirement & Savings Plan now owns 2,616,928 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $343,707,000 after acquiring an additional 23,228 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of American Financial Group by 395.5% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,520,714 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $331,071,000 after purchasing an additional 2,012,027 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of American Financial Group by 1.5% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 983,398 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $129,147,000 after purchasing an additional 14,265 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 2.4% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 820,955 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $107,824,000 after purchasing an additional 18,886 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 8.3% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 707,682 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $92,947,000 after purchasing an additional 54,204 shares during the last quarter. 64.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at American Financial Group

In related news, CFO Brian S. Hertzman sold 1,777 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.51, for a total transaction of $253,240.27. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 11,300 shares in the company, valued at $1,610,363. This represents a 13.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 17.40% of the company’s stock.

American Financial Group Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE:AFG opened at $137.33 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $138.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $131.94. American Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $114.73 and a one year high of $150.19. The firm has a market cap of $11.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.09 and a beta of 0.78. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The insurance provider reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $2.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.02 billion. American Financial Group had a net margin of 9.21% and a return on equity of 17.41%. American Financial Group’s revenue was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.31 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a special dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th were given a $2.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 17th. American Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently 36.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AFG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. 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. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $142.00 target price on shares of American Financial Group in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of American Financial Group in a research note on Tuesday. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on American Financial Group from $130.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on American Financial Group from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $135.00.

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.