American Financial Group, Inc. $AFG Position Boosted by M&T Bank Corp

M&T Bank Corp raised its holdings in shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) by 20,131.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 637,090 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 633,941 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in American Financial Group were worth $87,077,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 11.1% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 75,421 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $9,905,000 after buying an additional 7,554 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of American Financial Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,330,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 145.8% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,278 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $168,000 after buying an additional 758 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 144.8% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 793 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $100,000 after buying an additional 469 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 62.4% in the 2nd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 2,941 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $371,000 after buying an additional 1,130 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.37% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on AFG. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on American Financial Group from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on American Financial Group from $134.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised American Financial Group from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Financial Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $144.00.

American Financial Group Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of American Financial Group stock opened at $130.67 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.98 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $129.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $133.01. American Financial Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $120.52 and a 12-month high of $150.02.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The insurance provider reported $3.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.47. The firm had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.79 billion. American Financial Group had a return on equity of 18.64% and a net margin of 10.30%.The company’s revenue was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.12 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.98 earnings per share for the current year.

American Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 15th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. American Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.96%.

Insider Transactions at American Financial Group

In other American Financial Group news, CFO Brian S. Hertzman sold 1,663 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.70, for a total transaction of $222,343.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 12,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,614,160.10. This represents a 12.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 16.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American Financial Group Company 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.