O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Purchases 539 Shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) by 12.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 5,001 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 539 shares during the quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in American Financial Group were worth $685,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in American Financial Group by 86.8% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 340 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 91.2% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 520 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in shares of American Financial Group by 301.1% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 702 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $94,000 after buying an additional 527 shares in the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of American Financial Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $125,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in American Financial Group by 31.6% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,059 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $145,000 after acquiring an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. 64.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at American Financial Group

In other news, Director Gregory G. Joseph acquired 3,000 shares of American Financial Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $121.00 per share, for a total transaction of $363,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 57,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,954,717. This trade represents a 5.51 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 14.50% of the company’s stock.

American Financial Group Trading Up 0.1 %

AFG stock opened at $117.01 on Wednesday. American Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $114.63 and a twelve month high of $150.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.07 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $126.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $133.22.

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

American Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. American Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded American Financial Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $164.00 to $144.00 in a research report on Friday, February 7th.

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.