Gregory G. Joseph Purchases 3,000 Shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) Stock

American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) Director Gregory G. Joseph purchased 3,000 shares of American Financial Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was bought at an average price of $121.00 per share, for a total transaction of $363,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 57,477 shares in the company, valued at $6,954,717. The trade was a 5.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

American Financial Group Trading Up 0.4 %

American Financial Group stock traded up $0.48 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $120.30. 688,198 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 426,977. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $132.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $134.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.38 and a beta of 0.83. American Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $118.97 and a fifty-two week high of $150.19.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 20.30% and a net margin of 10.66%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.5 earnings per share for the current year.

American Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 24th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th were issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.66%. American Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,287,861 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,134,857,000 after acquiring an additional 99,560 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its holdings in American Financial Group by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,516,351 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $742,501,000 after purchasing an additional 202,522 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in American Financial Group by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,693,356 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $362,526,000 after purchasing an additional 104,172 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,595,346 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $218,146,000 after purchasing an additional 42,139 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.37% of the company’s stock.

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.