Vest Financial LLC Acquires 14,364 Shares of American Financial Group, Inc. $AFG

Vest Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) by 99.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 28,837 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 14,364 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in American Financial Group were worth $3,944,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in American Financial Group in the 2nd quarter worth $1,079,329,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in American Financial Group by 19.0% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,506,510 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $192,395,000 after acquiring an additional 240,509 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in American Financial Group during the second quarter worth $102,590,000. Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its holdings in American Financial Group by 11.9% during the first quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 525,691 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $67,136,000 after purchasing an additional 56,046 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in American Financial Group by 337.1% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 431,144 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $55,061,000 after purchasing an additional 332,517 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.37% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Financial Group

In other American Financial Group news, VP Mark 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 completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 6,648 shares in the company, valued at $962,364.48. This represents a 29.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Brian Hertzman sold 950 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.87, for a total value of $135,726.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 11,123 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,589,143.01. This trade represents a 7.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 16.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on AFG shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of American Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 17th. Piper Sandler upped their price target 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. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of American Financial Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of American Financial Group from $175.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on American Financial Group from $153.00 to $147.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $152.75.

American Financial Group Stock Down 1.8%

AFG stock opened at $150.63 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $12.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.19 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. American Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.09 and a 12 month high of $154.99. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $143.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $138.70.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The insurance provider reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.32 by $0.50. American Financial Group had a return on equity of 20.35% and a net margin of 11.51%. The business had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.14 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 12.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 15th were paid a dividend of $0.97 per share. This represents a $3.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. This is an increase from American Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 15th. American Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.92%.

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 operations, the company primarily provides property and casualty insurance, with an emphasis on specialty commercial products and markets.

Its insurance offerings serve businesses, organizations and individuals across a range of industries. Product lines have included commercial property and liability coverage, workers’ compensation, transportation, agriculture and crop insurance, marine and other specialty risks.