Bank of New York Mellon Corp Increases Stake in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) by 26.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 997,340 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 207,285 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in American Financial Group were worth $136,566,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its position in American Financial Group by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 151,771 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $20,782,000 after acquiring an additional 3,911 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its position in shares of American Financial Group by 55.2% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 7,837 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,073,000 after buying an additional 2,789 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of American Financial Group by 78.3% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 333,078 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $44,832,000 after buying an additional 146,237 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of American Financial Group by 17.4% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 49,796 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $6,833,000 after buying an additional 7,365 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Argent Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of American Financial Group by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 31,362 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,294,000 after buying an additional 2,787 shares in the last quarter. 64.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Financial Group Price Performance

AFG opened at $126.24 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $131.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $134.44. American Financial Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $118.97 and a 12-month high of $150.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a market cap of $10.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.94 and a beta of 0.83.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last posted 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 return on equity of 20.30% and a net margin of 10.66%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.5 earnings per share for the current year.

American Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a special dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $2.00 per share. American Financial Group’s payout ratio is 30.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gregory G. Joseph purchased 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were bought at an average price of $121.00 per share, for a total transaction of $363,000.00. Following the acquisition, 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 acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 14.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AFG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on American Financial Group from $135.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on American Financial Group from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut American Financial Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $164.00 to $144.00 in a research report on Friday, February 7th.

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.