Natixis Advisors LLC Has $2.60 Million Stock Position in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG)

Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) by 6.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 19,001 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,072 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Financial Group were worth $2,602,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AFG. FMR LLC lifted its position in American Financial Group by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,516,351 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $742,501,000 after buying an additional 202,522 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of 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. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,553,207 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $208,699,000 after acquiring an additional 143,820 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 26.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 997,340 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $136,566,000 after acquiring an additional 207,285 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH increased its stake in American Financial Group by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 607,677 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $83,209,000 after purchasing an additional 3,580 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.37% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut American Financial Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $164.00 to $144.00 in a research note on Friday, February 7th.

American Financial Group Stock Down 0.1 %

AFG stock opened at $125.03 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.53 and a quick ratio of 0.53. American Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $118.97 and a fifty-two week high of $150.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.83 and a beta of 0.79. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $128.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $134.01.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The insurance provider reported $3.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by ($0.03). American Financial Group had a net margin of 10.66% and a return on equity of 20.30%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.5 earnings per share for the current year.

American Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a special dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $2.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. American Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 30.27%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Gregory G. Joseph purchased 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $121.00 per share, with a total value of $363,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 57,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,954,717. This represents a 5.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 14.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.