VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Invests $2.71 Million in American Financial Group, Inc. $AFG

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new stake in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 19,400 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,715,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AFG. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in American Financial Group by 13,419.0% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 10,769,223 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,507,045,000 after purchasing an additional 10,689,563 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in American Financial Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,079,329,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 2.3% during 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 buying an additional 57,246 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,732,557 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $236,645,000 after buying an additional 29,731 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 19.0% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,506,510 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $192,395,000 after buying an additional 240,509 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.37% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AFG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings raised American Financial Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on American Financial Group from $158.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen raised American Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on American Financial Group from $148.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on American Financial Group from $140.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $156.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Mark Weiss sold 2,813 shares of American Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.76, for a total transaction of $407,209.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 6,648 shares in the company, valued at approximately $962,364.48. The trade was a 29.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider David Thompson, Jr. sold 11,370 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.05, for a total value of $1,535,518.50. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 584,098 shares in the company, valued at $78,882,434.90. The trade was a 1.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 17,380 shares of company stock valued at $2,390,788. 16.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American Financial Group Stock Up 0.7%

American Financial Group stock opened at $141.50 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.49 and a quick ratio of 0.49. The company’s 50-day moving average is $142.99 and its 200-day moving average is $135.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.73 billion, a PE ratio of 12.37 and a beta of 0.60. American Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.09 and a fifty-two week high of $150.02.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The insurance provider reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.85 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.14 EPS. American Financial Group’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 12.13 earnings per share for the current year.

American Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 15th were given a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend 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 an insurance holding company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Through its Great American Insurance Group subsidiaries, the company primarily underwrites specialty property and casualty insurance and sells annuity products.

Its property and casualty operations serve businesses, organizations and individuals through specialized products that include commercial transportation, agricultural and crop insurance, workers’ compensation, casualty coverage, financial institution insurance, surety and fidelity bonds, marine insurance, travel insurance and public-sector coverage.