Northern Trust Corp Grows Stock Holdings in American Financial Group, Inc. $AFG

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in American Financial Group, acquiring an additional 18,886 shares, bringing its total ownership to 820,955 shares valued at approximately $107.8 million.
• American Financial Group reported earnings per share of $2.14 for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, while total revenue was $1.65 billion, slightly below expectations.
• Several investment firms, including Charles Schwab Investment Management and SG Americas Securities, made significant adjustments to their positions in American Financial Group, highlighting increased institutional interest.

Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG - Free Report) by 2.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 820,955 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 18,886 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 0.98% of American Financial Group worth $107,824,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in American Financial Group by 395.5% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,520,714 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $331,071,000 after purchasing an additional 2,012,027 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in American Financial Group in the first quarter valued at about $30,442,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in American Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $20,675,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in American Financial Group by 6,414.6% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 129,967 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $17,070,000 after acquiring an additional 127,972 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in American Financial Group by 11,148.8% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 119,125 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $15,646,000 after acquiring an additional 118,066 shares during the period. 64.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Financial Group Stock Down 0.0%

NYSE AFG traded down $0.07 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $136.52. 38,220 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 497,273. American Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $114.73 and a 52-week high of $150.19. The firm has a market cap of $11.38 billion, a PE ratio of 15.00 and a beta of 0.74. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $128.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $126.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.47 and a quick ratio of 0.47.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The insurance provider reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.06. American Financial Group had a net margin of 9.21% and a return on equity of 17.41%. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.77 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.56 EPS. American Financial Group's revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 15th were given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 15th. American Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.16%.

Insider Transactions at American Financial Group

In related news, Director Stephen Craig Lindner, Jr. sold 10,000 shares of American Financial Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.31, for a total transaction of $1,343,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 326,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at $43,883,106.30. This trade represents a 2.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 17.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AFG. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of American Financial Group from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of American Financial Group from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of American Financial Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $136.75.

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.