Simplex Trading LLC Takes $416,000 Position in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG)

Simplex Trading LLC bought a new stake in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 3,040 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $416,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AFG. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 207,285 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 146,237 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in American Financial Group by 10.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,553,207 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $208,699,000 after buying an additional 143,820 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 4.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,693,356 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $362,526,000 after buying an additional 104,172 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridges Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 966.7% during the fourth quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 70,391 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $9,639,000 after buying an additional 63,792 shares during the last quarter. 64.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut shares of American Financial Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $164.00 to $144.00 in a research report on Friday, February 7th.

Insider Activity

In other American Financial Group news, Director Gregory G. Joseph acquired 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $121.00 per share, with a total value of $363,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 57,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,954,717. This represents a 5.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 14.50% of the company’s stock.

American Financial Group Stock Performance

NYSE AFG opened at $132.19 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $127.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $133.77. The firm has a market cap of $11.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.51 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.53 and a quick 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 results on Tuesday, February 4th. The insurance provider reported $3.12 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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, equities research analysts predict that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.42%. American Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently 30.27%.

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.