American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) Holdings Increased by Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its stake in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 570,342 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,680 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in American Financial Group were worth $78,097,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AFG. FMR LLC lifted its position in American Financial Group by 3.8% in the third 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 during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings 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 during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake 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 valued at $208,699,000 after buying an additional 143,820 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in American Financial Group by 26.2% during 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 buying an additional 207,285 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH grew its holdings in American Financial Group by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 607,677 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $83,209,000 after acquiring an additional 3,580 shares during the period. 64.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AFG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded shares of American Financial Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price target for the company from $164.00 to $144.00 in a report on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of 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. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of American Financial Group from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Financial Group news, Director Gregory G. Joseph bought 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 acquisition, the director now directly owns 57,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,954,717. This trade represents a 5.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 14.50% of the company’s stock.

American Financial Group Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE AFG opened at $127.12 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. American Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $118.97 and a 12 month high of $150.19. The company has a market cap of $10.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.03 and a beta of 0.79. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $130.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $134.49.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 10.66% and a return on equity of 20.30%. Sell-side analysts predict that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.5 EPS for the current year.

American Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a special dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $2.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. American Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is 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.