Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Makes New $29.14 Million Investment in American Financial Group, Inc. $AFG

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 208,262 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $29,144,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.25% of American Financial Group as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AFG. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in American Financial Group by 7.4% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,603 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $364,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 24.0% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 294,396 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $37,597,000 after purchasing an additional 57,023 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 487.7% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 30,500 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $3,894,000 after purchasing an additional 25,310 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 5.7% in the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 151,888 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $19,398,000 after purchasing an additional 8,220 shares during the period. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 48,326 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $6,172,000 after purchasing an additional 3,532 shares during the period. 64.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on AFG shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on American Financial Group from $158.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of American Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of American Financial Group from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of American Financial Group from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $150.75.

Insider Transactions at American Financial Group

In other American Financial Group news, SVP Michelle A. Gillis sold 2,247 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.00, for a total transaction of $312,333.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 13,135 shares in the company, valued at $1,825,765. This represents a 14.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Mark A. Weiss sold 2,813 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.76, for a total value of $407,209.88. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 6,648 shares of the company's stock, valued at $962,364.48. The trade was a 29.73% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 16,430 shares of company stock worth $2,255,061. 16.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

American Financial Group Stock Up 0.1%

AFG opened at $145.66 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $12.10 billion, a PE ratio of 12.73 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. American Financial Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $123.09 and a 52 week high of $150.02. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $138.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $133.35.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The insurance provider reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.32 by $0.50. The company had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.85 billion. American Financial Group had a return on equity of 20.35% and a net margin of 11.51%.American Financial Group's quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.14 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 11.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 15th were paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 15th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. American Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.77%.

American Financial Group Profile

American Financial Group, Inc NYSE: AFG is a diversified holding company primarily engaged in property and casualty insurance and reinsurance. Through its flagship subsidiary, Great American Insurance Company, the firm underwrites a broad range of specialty insurance products for commercial and industrial clients, including inland marine, excess and surplus lines, executive liability, and environmental liability coverage. In addition, American Financial Group offers supplemental accident and health insurance and assumes reinsurance risks from other insurers, helping to diversify its underwriting portfolio.

The company traces its roots to 1946, when it was founded by Carl Lindner, Sr.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AFG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source