Arizona State Retirement System Grows Position in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG)

Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,714 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 290 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in American Financial Group were worth $2,836,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AFG. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 26.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 997,340 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $136,566,000 after purchasing an additional 207,285 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its holdings in American Financial Group by 3.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,516,351 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $742,501,000 after buying an additional 202,522 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of American Financial Group by 78.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 333,078 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $44,832,000 after acquiring an additional 146,237 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,553,207 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $208,699,000 after acquiring an additional 143,820 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,693,356 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $362,526,000 after acquiring an additional 104,172 shares during the period. 64.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Financial Group Price Performance

AFG stock opened at $127.12 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $130.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $134.49. The firm has a market cap of $10.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.03 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.53. American Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $118.97 and a 1 year high of $150.19.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 10.66% and a return on equity of 20.30%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Financial Group Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on American Financial Group from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on American Financial Group from $135.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered shares of American Financial Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $164.00 to $144.00 in a research report on Friday, February 7th.

Insider Transactions at American Financial Group

In other news, Director Gregory G. Joseph acquired 3,000 shares of American Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $121.00 per share, with a total value of $363,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 57,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,954,717. This represents a 5.51 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 14.50% of the company’s stock.

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.