Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Grows Stock Position in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) by 7.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,574 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in American Financial Group were worth $544,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 132.5% during the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 272 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new stake in American Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in American Financial Group in the 3rd quarter worth $52,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of American Financial Group by 7,616.7% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 926 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $110,000 after acquiring an additional 914 shares during the period. Finally, Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. bought a new position in shares of American Financial Group during the third quarter valued at about $201,000. 64.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Michelle A. Gillis sold 5,176 shares of American Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were 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 directly owns 45,372 shares in the company, valued at $5,490,012. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other American Financial Group news, Director Lehman John I. Von sold 1,773 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.48, for a total value of $222,476.04. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 12,343 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,548,799.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michelle A. Gillis sold 5,176 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.00, for a total value of $626,296.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,372 shares in the company, valued at $5,490,012. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,843 shares of company stock valued at $1,854,746 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 14.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AFG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $129.00 price target on shares of American Financial Group in a report on Monday, April 1st. Citigroup boosted their target price on American Financial Group from $139.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, American Financial Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $133.50.

American Financial Group Price Performance

AFG stock opened at $128.71 on Friday. 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 1 year low of $105.22 and a 1 year high of $137.71. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $129.60 and a 200 day moving average of $120.37. The company has a market cap of $10.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.81 and a beta of 0.79.

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

American Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 25th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th were given a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 12th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. 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.