Schroder Investment Management Group Grows Stock Holdings in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG)

Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its position in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 57,866 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,749 shares during the quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group’s holdings in American Financial Group were worth $7,872,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in American Financial Group by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 75,500 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $10,338,000 after purchasing an additional 7,236 shares during the last quarter. Allstate Corp purchased a new position in American Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth $385,000. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC acquired a new position in American Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $236,000. Slagle Financial LLC raised its stake in American Financial Group by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Slagle Financial LLC now owns 13,133 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,798,000 after buying an additional 557 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 47,989 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,571,000 after acquiring an additional 1,874 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.37% of the company’s stock.

American Financial Group Stock Down 6.5 %

Shares of AFG stock opened at $121.78 on Friday. American Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $118.97 and a fifty-two week high of $150.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.23 billion, a PE ratio of 11.52 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.53. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $127.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $133.64.

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

American Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. American Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered shares of American Financial Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $164.00 to $144.00 in a research report on Friday, February 7th.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Financial Group

In related news, Director Gregory G. Joseph purchased 3,000 shares of American Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was bought 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 owns 57,477 shares in the company, valued at $6,954,717. The trade was a 5.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 14.50% of the company’s stock.

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.