NorthRock Partners LLC Makes New $496,000 Investment in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG)

NorthRock Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 3,625 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $496,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of American Financial Group by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,287,861 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,134,857,000 after buying an additional 99,560 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of American Financial Group by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,595,346 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $218,146,000 after buying an additional 42,139 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of American Financial Group by 26.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 997,340 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $136,566,000 after buying an additional 207,285 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of American Financial Group by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 996,724 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $136,481,000 after buying an additional 63,193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of American Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth about $122,419,000. 64.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity 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 stock was bought at an average price of $121.00 per share, for a total transaction of $363,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 57,477 shares in the company, valued at $6,954,717. This represents a 5.51% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 17.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

American Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of American Financial Group stock opened at $126.66 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $126.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $131.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.53. The company has a market cap of $10.60 billion, a PE ratio of 11.98 and a beta of 0.72. American Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $114.73 and a one year high of $150.19.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The insurance provider reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.17 by ($0.36). The business had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.74 billion. American Financial Group had a net margin of 10.66% and a return on equity of 20.30%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.76 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast 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, April 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th were issued a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 15th. American Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on American Financial Group from $126.00 to $125.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 9th.

About American Financial Group

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.

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