O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Boosts Holdings in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) by 12.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,001 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 539 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in American Financial Group were worth $685,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AFG. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,287,861 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,134,857,000 after purchasing an additional 99,560 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in American Financial Group by 4.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,693,356 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $362,526,000 after purchasing an additional 104,172 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in American Financial Group by 10.2% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 26.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 997,340 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $136,566,000 after buying an additional 207,285 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of American Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $122,419,000. 64.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

American Financial Group Price Performance

NYSE:AFG opened at $117.01 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $126.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $133.22. American Financial Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $114.63 and a 52 week high of $150.19. The stock has a market cap of $9.83 billion, a PE ratio of 11.07 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last issued its earnings results 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%. As a group, analysts forecast that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. American Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gregory G. Joseph purchased 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $121.00 per share, for a total transaction of $363,000.00. Following the purchase, 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 ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 14.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.