Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Raises Holdings in American Financial Group, Inc. $AFG

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) by 16.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 64,591 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,263 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned about 0.08% of American Financial Group worth $8,152,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Xponance Inc. boosted its position in American Financial Group by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 11,882 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,561,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 2,356 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 15.6% in the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 776 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $98,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. CX Institutional boosted its holdings in American Financial Group by 4.5% during the second quarter. CX Institutional now owns 2,839 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $358,000 after buying an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its position in American Financial Group by 421.1% during the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 198 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the period. 64.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AFG. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of American Financial Group from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on American Financial Group from $130.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on American Financial Group from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded American Financial Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $142.00 price objective on shares of American Financial Group in a research report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $137.00.

American Financial Group Stock Down 0.2%

AFG opened at $142.02 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $11.84 billion, a PE ratio of 15.61 and a beta of 0.78. American Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $114.73 and a twelve month high of $150.19. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $138.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $131.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The insurance provider reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $2.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.02 billion. American Financial Group had a return on equity of 17.41% and a net margin of 9.21%.American Financial Group’s quarterly revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.31 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a special dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Investors of record on Monday, November 17th will be paid a $2.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 17th. American Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.97%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Financial Group news, CFO Brian S. Hertzman sold 1,777 shares of American Financial Group stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.51, for a total transaction of $253,240.27. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 11,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,610,363. The trade was a 13.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Stephen Craig Lindner, Jr. sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.31, for a total transaction of $1,343,100.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 326,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,883,106.30. The trade was a 2.97% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 17.40% 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.