Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Reduces Holdings in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG)

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund lowered its position in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) by 27.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 35,658 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 13,600 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in American Financial Group were worth $4,883,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC boosted its position in American Financial Group by 3.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,516,351 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $742,501,000 after purchasing an additional 202,522 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 78.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 333,078 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $44,832,000 after buying an additional 146,237 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in American Financial Group by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,553,207 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $208,699,000 after buying an additional 143,820 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in American Financial Group by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,693,356 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $362,526,000 after buying an additional 104,172 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its holdings in American Financial Group by 234.2% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 72,877 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $9,979,000 after acquiring an additional 51,070 shares during the period. 64.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Financial Group Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE:AFG opened at $122.50 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $132.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $134.58. The company has a market cap of $10.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.59 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.53 and a quick ratio of 0.53. American Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $118.97 and a one year high of $150.19.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The insurance provider reported $3.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.15 by ($0.03). American Financial Group had a net margin of 10.66% and a return on equity of 20.30%. Analysts anticipate that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th were issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 14th. American Financial Group’s payout ratio is 30.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on AFG shares. Piper Sandler raised their price target on American Financial Group from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut American Financial Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $164.00 to $144.00 in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on American Financial Group from $135.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gregory G. Joseph bought 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $121.00 per share, for a total transaction of $363,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 57,477 shares in the company, valued at $6,954,717. This trade represents a 5.51 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 14.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

American Financial Group Profile

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.