Raymond James & Associates Purchases 3,121 Shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG)

Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) by 27.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 14,295 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,121 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in American Financial Group were worth $1,700,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AFG. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of American Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth about $94,625,000. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in American Financial Group by 16.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,710,065 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $525,973,000 after buying an additional 654,442 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its holdings in American Financial Group by 511.9% during the 1st quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 432,083 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $52,498,000 after buying an additional 361,472 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in American Financial Group by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,544,354 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,098,609,000 after buying an additional 313,115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in American Financial Group by 70.4% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 701,998 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $96,370,000 after buying an additional 290,140 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.37% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on AFG shares. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of American Financial Group from $139.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 25th. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $129.00 price objective on shares of American Financial Group in a report on Monday, April 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Financial Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $133.50.

Insider Transactions at American Financial Group

In other news, CFO Brian S. Hertzman sold 1,067 shares of American Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.95, for a total value of $135,455.65. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,583 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,343,511.85. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CFO Brian S. Hertzman sold 1,067 shares of American Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.95, for a total value of $135,455.65. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,583 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,343,511.85. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Michelle A. Gillis sold 5,176 shares of American Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.00, for a total transaction of $626,296.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,490,012. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,843 shares of company stock valued at $1,854,746 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 14.50% of the company’s stock.

American Financial Group Trading Down 1.9 %

NYSE AFG opened at $124.53 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.47. The company has a market capitalization of $10.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.39 and a beta of 0.79. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $128.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $119.70. American Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $105.22 and a one year high of $137.71.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The insurance provider reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. American Financial Group had a net margin of 10.89% and a return on equity of 22.14%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.99 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be given a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. American Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 28.26%.

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.