Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Boosts Position in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG)

Key Points

• Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in American Financial Group by 395.5%, owning approximately 3.01% of the company valued at around $331 million as of the latest reporting period.
• American Financial Group recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.80 per share, yielding 2.5% annually, with a payout ratio of 35.16%.
• Analysts have noted a change in sentiment towards the company, with Wall Street Zen upgrading American Financial Group from a "sell" to a "hold" rating and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raising their target price from $125.00 to $127.00.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG - Free Report) by 395.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,520,714 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,012,027 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 3.01% of American Financial Group worth $331,071,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. American Financial Group Inc. 401 K Retirement & Savings Plan raised its stake in American Financial Group by 0.9% during the first quarter. American Financial Group Inc. 401 K Retirement & Savings Plan now owns 2,616,928 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $343,707,000 after purchasing an additional 23,228 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in American Financial Group by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 996,724 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $136,481,000 after purchasing an additional 63,193 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in American Financial Group by 35.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 802,069 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $109,827,000 after purchasing an additional 211,630 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in American Financial Group by 27.7% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 684,178 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $93,684,000 after purchasing an additional 148,259 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC raised its stake in American Financial Group by 89.5% during the fourth quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 672,851 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $92,134,000 after purchasing an additional 317,859 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.37% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AFG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of American Financial Group from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of American Financial Group from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of American Financial Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $136.75.

American Financial Group Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of AFG traded up $1.39 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $132.17. The stock had a trading volume of 78,077 shares, compared to its average volume of 506,490. American Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $114.73 and a 1 year high of $150.19. The firm has a market cap of $11.02 billion, a PE ratio of 14.53 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.47 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The stock's 50 day moving average is $125.62 and its 200 day moving average is $126.08.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The insurance provider reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.56 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 15th were paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 15th. American Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.16%.

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.