Royal Bank of Canada Trims Holdings in American Financial Group, Inc. $AFG

Royal Bank of Canada lowered its holdings in shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) by 27.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 59,052 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 22,218 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada’s holdings in American Financial Group were worth $7,541,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,567,721 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $350,956,000 after buying an additional 57,246 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in American Financial Group by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,732,557 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $236,645,000 after acquiring an additional 29,731 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in American Financial Group by 19.0% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,506,510 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $192,395,000 after acquiring an additional 240,509 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in American Financial Group by 33.2% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,026,783 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $149,623,000 after acquiring an additional 255,693 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its stake in American Financial Group by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 894,998 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $122,329,000 after acquiring an additional 36,971 shares during the last quarter. 64.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on American Financial Group from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on American Financial Group from $158.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of American Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on American Financial Group from $140.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $154.75.

American Financial Group Stock Down 1.4%

AFG opened at $143.52 on Tuesday. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $138.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $133.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.55 and a beta of 0.62. American Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.09 and a 12 month high of $150.02.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The insurance provider reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.32 by $0.50. The firm had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.85 billion. American Financial Group had a return on equity of 20.35% and a net margin of 11.51%.American Financial Group’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.14 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 11.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 15th were given a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 15th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. American Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Mark A. Weiss sold 2,813 shares of the business’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 transaction, the vice president directly owned 6,648 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $962,364.48. The trade was a 29.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michelle A. Gillis sold 2,247 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.00, for a total value of $312,333.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 13,135 shares in the company, valued at $1,825,765. This represents a 14.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 16,430 shares of company stock valued at $2,255,061. Corporate insiders own 16.90% of the company’s stock.

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.