103,935 Shares in American Financial Group, Inc. $AFG Acquired by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 103,935 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $14,545,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in American Financial Group in the 1st quarter worth about $2,567,000. UBS Group AG boosted its position in American Financial Group by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 581,805 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $79,521,000 after buying an additional 53,431 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in American Financial Group by 433.2% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 316,974 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $40,481,000 after buying an additional 257,522 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd grew its stake in American Financial Group by 281.1% in the 1st quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 28,243 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,607,000 after acquiring an additional 20,832 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia bought a new position in American Financial Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $6,760,000. Institutional investors own 64.37% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider David Lawrence Thompson, Jr. sold 11,370 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 584,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $78,882,434.90. The trade was a 1.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Mark A. Weiss sold 2,813 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.76, for a total value of $407,209.88. Following the sale, the vice president owned 6,648 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $962,364.48. This represents a 29.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 16,430 shares of company stock valued at $2,255,061 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 16.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on AFG shares. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of American Financial Group from $140.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on American Financial Group from $148.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen raised American Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. Weiss Ratings upgraded American Financial Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Financial Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $156.00.

American Financial Group Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of American Financial Group stock opened at $143.55 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.49 and a quick ratio of 0.49. American Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.09 and a 1 year high of $150.02. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $142.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $134.96. The stock has a market cap of $11.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.55 and a beta of 0.62.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The insurance provider reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.32 by $0.50. American Financial Group had a net margin of 11.51% and a return on equity of 20.35%. The business had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.14 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 12.13 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. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 15th were issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 15th. American Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.77%.

About American Financial Group

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.