64,728 Shares in American Financial Group, Inc. $AFG Purchased by Rakuten Investment Management Inc.

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 64,728 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $9,432,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of American Financial Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $106,707,000. Vestor Capital LLC grew its holdings in American Financial Group by 64,631.3% in the 2nd quarter. Vestor Capital LLC now owns 388,388 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $49,018,000 after buying an additional 387,788 shares in the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new stake in American Financial Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $20,560,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in American Financial Group by 50.9% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 307,874 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $38,857,000 after acquiring an additional 103,826 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in American Financial Group by 29.6% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 424,723 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $53,605,000 after acquiring an additional 97,102 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.37% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AFG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $142.00 price target on shares of American Financial Group in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of American Financial Group in a report on Thursday, January 15th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $165.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings cut shares of American Financial Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of American Financial Group from $130.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $142.50.

American Financial Group Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of AFG stock opened at $131.32 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $135.54 and a 200-day moving average of $134.91. American Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $114.73 and a 12 month high of $150.02. The firm has a market cap of $10.95 billion, a PE ratio of 13.79 and a beta of 0.70.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The insurance provider reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $2.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.02 billion. American Financial Group had a return on equity of 18.05% and a net margin of 9.66%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.31 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.5 EPS for the current year.

American Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 15th will be given a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 15th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. American Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 36.97%.

Insider Activity at American Financial Group

In related news, CFO Brian S. Hertzman sold 1,777 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.51, for a total value of $253,240.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 11,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,610,363. This trade represents a 13.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 17.40% of the company’s stock.

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.