Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Has $19.89 Million Holdings in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. cut its holdings in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 167,263 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 262 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned approximately 0.20% of American Financial Group worth $19,886,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AFG. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 16.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,710,065 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $525,973,000 after acquiring an additional 654,442 shares in the last quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. grew its stake in American Financial Group by 447.1% during the third quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 259,491 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $28,977,000 after buying an additional 212,057 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its stake in American Financial Group by 51.8% during the third quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 398,057 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $44,451,000 after buying an additional 135,767 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in American Financial Group by 1,804.5% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 96,652 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $11,491,000 after buying an additional 91,577 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in American Financial Group by 1.0% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,288,375 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $925,563,000 after buying an additional 81,293 shares in the last quarter. 64.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Transactions at American Financial Group

In other news, SVP Michelle A. Gillis sold 5,176 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.00, for a total value of $626,296.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 45,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,490,012. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Michelle A. Gillis sold 2,053 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.81, for a total value of $260,340.93. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 48,554 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,157,132.74. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michelle A. Gillis sold 5,176 shares of the business’s 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 owns 45,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,490,012. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 14,843 shares of company stock worth $1,854,746. Company insiders own 14.50% of the company’s stock.

American Financial Group Stock Up 0.8 %

NYSE:AFG opened at $128.83 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $129.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $120.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.47 and a quick ratio of 0.47. American Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $105.22 and a one year high of $137.71. The company has a market cap of $10.80 billion, a PE ratio of 12.82 and a beta of 0.79.

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

American Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. American Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.26%.

American Financial Group Company 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.