Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Decreases Position in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. decreased its stake in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) by 93.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 7,693 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 107,357 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in American Financial Group were worth $1,053,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC lifted its stake in American Financial Group by 3.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,516,351 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $742,501,000 after purchasing an additional 202,522 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 78.3% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 333,078 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $44,832,000 after buying an additional 146,237 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,553,207 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $208,699,000 after acquiring an additional 143,820 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in American Financial Group by 251.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 147,892 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $19,442,000 after acquiring an additional 105,764 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp grew its position in American Financial Group by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,693,356 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $362,526,000 after acquiring an additional 104,172 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.37% of the company’s stock.

American Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of AFG stock opened at $135.12 on Friday. American Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $115.64 and a twelve month high of $150.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $138.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $134.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.66 and a beta of 0.83.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The insurance provider reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.51 by ($0.20). The business had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. American Financial Group had a return on equity of 19.97% and a net margin of 10.84%. The firm’s revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.45 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 14th were issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 14th. American Financial Group’s payout ratio is 29.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on AFG shares. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on American Financial Group from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of American Financial Group from $165.00 to $164.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of American Financial Group from $135.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th.

American Financial Group 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.