Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Has $18.92 Million Stake in American Financial Group, Inc. $AFG

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. decreased its position in shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 149,908 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 737 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.18% of American Financial Group worth $18,920,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Xponance Inc. raised its position in American Financial Group by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 11,882 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,561,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. increased its position in American Financial Group by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. now owns 1,727 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $222,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co increased its position in American Financial Group by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 2,356 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $297,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in American Financial Group by 15.6% during the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 776 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $98,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional increased its stake in American Financial Group by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 2,839 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $358,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.37% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on AFG. Wall Street Zen upgraded American Financial Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of American Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on American Financial Group from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on American Financial Group from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $136.75.

Insider Transactions at American Financial Group

In other American Financial Group news, Director Stephen Craig Lindner, Jr. sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.31, for a total transaction of $1,343,100.00. Following the sale, the director owned 326,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,883,106.30. The trade was a 2.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 17.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American Financial Group Price Performance

American Financial Group stock opened at $129.65 on Thursday. American Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $114.73 and a 12 month high of $150.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $138.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $130.44. The company has a market cap of $10.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.25 and a beta of 0.74.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The insurance provider reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.06. American Financial Group had a return on equity of 17.41% and a net margin of 9.21%.The business had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.56 earnings per share. American Financial Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.5 EPS for the current year.

American Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 15th were issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 15th. This is a positive change from American Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. American Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently 38.68%.

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.