Janus Henderson Group PLC Increases Stock Position in American Financial Group, Inc. $AFG

Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) by 487.7% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 30,500 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 25,310 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC’s holdings in American Financial Group were worth $3,894,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFG. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,567,721 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $350,956,000 after purchasing an additional 57,246 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in American Financial Group by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,732,557 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $236,645,000 after buying an additional 29,731 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in American Financial Group by 19.0% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,506,510 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $192,395,000 after buying an additional 240,509 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in American Financial Group by 33.2% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,026,783 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $149,623,000 after buying an additional 255,693 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley grew its stake in American Financial Group by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 894,998 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $122,329,000 after buying an additional 36,971 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.37% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AFG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of American Financial Group from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on American Financial Group from $158.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of American Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on American Financial Group from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $150.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Financial Group

In related news, insider David Lawrence Thompson, Jr. sold 11,370 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.05, for a total value of $1,535,518.50. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 584,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $78,882,434.90. This represents a 1.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Michelle A. Gillis sold 2,247 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.00, for a total transaction of $312,333.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 13,135 shares in the company, valued at $1,825,765. This trade represents a 14.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 16,430 shares of company stock valued at $2,255,061 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 16.90% of the company’s stock.

American Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of AFG stock opened at $145.66 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.48 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $138.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $133.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.73 and a beta of 0.62. American Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.09 and a 12 month high of $150.02.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The insurance provider reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.32 by $0.50. American Financial Group had a return on equity of 20.43% and a net margin of 11.51%.The business had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.14 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 11.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 15th were issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 15th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. American Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 30.77%.

American Financial Group Profile

American Financial Group, Inc (NYSE: AFG) is a diversified holding company primarily engaged in property and casualty insurance and reinsurance. Through its flagship subsidiary, Great American Insurance Company, the firm underwrites a broad range of specialty insurance products for commercial and industrial clients, including inland marine, excess and surplus lines, executive liability, and environmental liability coverage. In addition, American Financial Group offers supplemental accident and health insurance and assumes reinsurance risks from other insurers, helping to diversify its underwriting portfolio.

The company traces its roots to 1946, when it was founded by Carl Lindner, Sr.