State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System Purchases 2,319 Shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG)

State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its position in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) by 3.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 80,686 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,319 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System owned about 0.10% of American Financial Group worth $11,012,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in American Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth about $97,304,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,838,501 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $456,359,000 after acquiring an additional 191,269 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. increased its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 63.1% during the 4th quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 423,162 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $50,310,000 after acquiring an additional 163,671 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in American Financial Group by 1,804.5% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 96,652 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $11,491,000 after acquiring an additional 91,577 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in American Financial Group by 43.5% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 264,183 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $31,409,000 after purchasing an additional 80,034 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.37% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on AFG. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of American Financial Group from $129.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 6th. Citigroup lowered shares of American Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $144.00 to $137.00 in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $131.75.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Amy Y. Murray purchased 1,200 shares of American Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 28th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $125.17 per share, with a total value of $150,204.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $150,204. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 14.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

American Financial Group Stock Down 5.0 %

AFG stock opened at $124.89 on Friday. 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 current ratio of 0.46 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.95 and a beta of 0.78. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $126.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $126.40.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The insurance provider reported $2.76 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 21.34%. The business had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.89 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.89 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.93 earnings per share for the current year.

American Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 15th. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.27%. American Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.18%.

American Financial Group 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.