Swiss National Bank Sells 7,300 Shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG)

Swiss National Bank trimmed its position in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 225,600 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 7,300 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.27% of American Financial Group worth $26,822,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in American Financial Group by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 15,397 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,719,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 11,242 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,255,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 33,796 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,774,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC increased its position in 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 acquiring an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 3,136 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $373,000 after acquiring an additional 283 shares during the last quarter. 64.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on AFG. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on American Financial Group from $129.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Citigroup upped their target price on American Financial Group from $139.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $135.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director James E. Evans sold 2,274 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.64, for a total transaction of $292,527.36. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 105,302 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,546,049.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Lehman John I. Von sold 1,773 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.48, for a total transaction of $222,476.04. Following the transaction, the director now owns 12,343 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,548,799.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director James E. Evans sold 2,274 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.64, for a total transaction of $292,527.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 105,302 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,546,049.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,667 shares of company stock valued at $1,228,450 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 14.50% of the company’s stock.

American Financial Group Stock Up 1.2 %

NYSE:AFG opened at $130.69 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.51 and a beta of 0.79. American Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $105.22 and a fifty-two week high of $137.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.47. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $130.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $121.59.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The insurance provider reported $2.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.70 by $0.06. American Financial Group had a net margin of 11.03% and a return on equity of 21.56%. The business had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.89 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.89 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th were paid a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 12th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. American Financial Group’s payout ratio is 27.18%.

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.