First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Invests $243,000 in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. acquired a new stake in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,046 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $243,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFG. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in American Financial Group by 1.0% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,288,375 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $925,563,000 after acquiring an additional 81,293 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in American Financial Group by 16.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,710,065 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $525,973,000 after buying an additional 654,442 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in American Financial Group by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,838,501 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $456,359,000 after buying an additional 191,269 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of American Financial Group by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 838,468 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $93,632,000 after acquiring an additional 56,267 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 635,387 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $70,954,000 after acquiring an additional 24,630 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 research firms recently weighed in on AFG. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on American Financial Group from $129.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of American Financial Group from $139.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Financial Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $135.00.

Insider Transactions at American Financial Group

In other American Financial Group news, SVP Michelle A. Gillis sold 5,176 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.00, for a total transaction of $626,296.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 45,372 shares in the company, valued at $5,490,012. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, SVP Michelle A. Gillis sold 2,053 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.81, for a total transaction of $260,340.93. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 48,554 shares in the company, valued at $6,157,132.74. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michelle A. Gillis sold 5,176 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.00, for a total transaction of $626,296.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,372 shares in the company, valued at $5,490,012. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 14,843 shares of company stock worth $1,854,746. 14.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

American Financial Group Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of AFG opened at $129.18 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.83 billion, a PE ratio of 12.36 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.47. American Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $105.22 and a fifty-two week high of $137.71. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $130.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $121.52.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The insurance provider reported $2.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.70 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.89 billion. American Financial Group had a net margin of 11.03% and a return on equity of 21.56%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.89 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.99 EPS for the current year.

American Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th were paid a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 12th. American Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.18%.

American Financial Group Company 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.