Bank of New York Mellon Corp Sells 40,961 Shares of American Financial Group, Inc. $AFG

Key Points

• Bank of New York Mellon trimmed its stake in American Financial Group by 5% in the first quarter, selling 40,961 shares and ending with 778,073 shares valued at about $99.4 million.
• Insider selling was also reported, with SVP Michelle A. Gillis and insider David Lawrence Thompson, Jr. both reducing their holdings in recent SEC-disclosed transactions.
• American Financial Group reported quarterly EPS of $2.47, slightly below expectations, while revenue came in above estimates; the company also declared a $0.88 quarterly dividend, yielding 2.5%.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lessened its position in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG - Free Report) by 5.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 778,073 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 40,961 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 0.94% of American Financial Group worth $99,368,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in American Financial Group by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,567,721 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $350,956,000 after purchasing an additional 57,246 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,732,557 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $236,645,000 after buying an additional 29,731 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,266,001 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $173,045,000 after acquiring an additional 138,483 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in American Financial Group by 33.2% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,026,783 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $149,623,000 after acquiring an additional 255,693 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in American Financial Group by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 894,998 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $122,329,000 after acquiring an additional 36,971 shares in the last quarter. 64.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at American Financial Group

In related news, SVP Michelle A. Gillis sold 2,247 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.00, for a total transaction of $312,333.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 13,135 shares in the company, valued at $1,825,765. This trade represents a 14.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider David Lawrence Thompson, Jr. sold 11,370 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.05, for a total transaction of $1,535,518.50. Following the sale, the insider owned 584,098 shares in the company, valued at $78,882,434.90. This trade represents a 1.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 16.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

American Financial Group Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of AFG stock opened at $142.25 on Tuesday. American Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $122.11 and a 1-year high of $150.02. The company has a market cap of $11.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.52 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.48 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $136.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $132.36.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.54 by ($0.07). American Financial Group had a return on equity of 19.50% and a net margin of 10.76%.The company had revenue of $1.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.81 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 11.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 15th will be given a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 15th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. American Financial Group's payout ratio is presently 33.46%.

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.

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