Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Has $55.06 Million Stock Position in American Financial Group, Inc. $AFG

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) by 337.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 431,144 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 332,517 shares during the quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned 0.52% of American Financial Group worth $55,061,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in American Financial Group by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,567,721 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $350,956,000 after buying an additional 57,246 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,732,557 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $236,645,000 after purchasing an additional 29,731 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 19.0% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,506,510 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $192,395,000 after purchasing an additional 240,509 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 33.2% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,026,783 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $149,623,000 after purchasing an additional 255,693 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 894,998 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $122,329,000 after purchasing an additional 36,971 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.37% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AFG. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of American Financial Group from $158.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of American Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on American Financial Group from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on American Financial Group from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Financial Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $150.75.

Insider Transactions at American Financial Group

In other American Financial Group news, SVP Michelle A. Gillis sold 2,247 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.00, for a total value of $312,333.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 13,135 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,825,765. This represents a 14.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider David Lawrence Thompson, Jr. sold 11,370 shares of American Financial Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.05, for a total value of $1,535,518.50. Following the transaction, the insider owned 584,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $78,882,434.90. This represents a 1.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 16.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

American Financial Group Trading Up 0.0%

AFG stock opened at $143.82 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $136.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $132.60. American Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $122.11 and a fifty-two week high of $150.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.67 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.48 and a quick ratio of 0.48.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.54 by ($0.07). American Financial Group had a return on equity of 19.50% and a net margin of 10.76%.The company had revenue of $1.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.81 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 11.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 15th were paid a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 15th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. American Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.46%.

About American Financial Group

American Financial Group, Inc (NYSE: AFG) is a diversified holding company primarily engaged in property and casualty insurance and reinsurance. Through its flagship subsidiary, Great American Insurance Company, the firm underwrites a broad range of specialty insurance products for commercial and industrial clients, including inland marine, excess and surplus lines, executive liability, and environmental liability coverage. In addition, American Financial Group offers supplemental accident and health insurance and assumes reinsurance risks from other insurers, helping to diversify its underwriting portfolio.

The company traces its roots to 1946, when it was founded by Carl Lindner, Sr.