DnB Asset Management AS Has $2.09 Million Position in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG)

DnB Asset Management AS cut its holdings in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,244 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 264 shares during the quarter. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in American Financial Group were worth $2,087,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AFG. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in American Financial Group by 1.2% during the 4th 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 last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 4.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,693,356 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $362,526,000 after purchasing an additional 104,172 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 143,820 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased 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. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in American Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $122,419,000. 64.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Financial Group Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:AFG opened at $132.19 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.53 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The stock 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 50 day moving average of $127.93 and a 200-day moving average of $133.77. American Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $118.97 and a one year high of $150.19.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last released its 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.5 earnings per share for the current year.

American Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.42%. American Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.27%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Transactions at American Financial Group

In other news, Director Gregory G. Joseph purchased 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $121.00 per share, for a total transaction of $363,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 57,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,954,717. The trade was a 5.51 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 14.50% of the company’s stock.

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.