Retirement Systems of Alabama Grows Position in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG)

Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its position in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG - Free Report) by 7.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 170,743 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 12,392 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned about 0.20% of American Financial Group worth $20,300,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AFG. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 242.3% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,053 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $341,000 after purchasing an additional 2,161 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 16.4% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 5,374 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $600,000 after purchasing an additional 759 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC purchased a new stake in American Financial Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $280,000. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in American Financial Group by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,449 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $497,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its stake in American Financial Group by 11.9% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 11,800 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,318,000 after acquiring an additional 1,251 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.37% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Financial Group news, Director James E. Evans sold 2,274 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.64, for a total transaction of $292,527.36. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 105,302 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,546,049.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other American Financial Group news, Director James E. Evans sold 2,274 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.64, for a total transaction of $292,527.36. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 105,302 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,546,049.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Michelle A. Gillis sold 2,053 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.81, for a total transaction of $260,340.93. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 48,554 shares in the company, valued at $6,157,132.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,843 shares of company stock worth $1,854,746 in the last ninety days. 14.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

American Financial Group Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of American Financial Group stock traded up $0.05 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $127.75. The stock had a trading volume of 258,527 shares, compared to its average volume of 334,580. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $129.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $120.74. American Financial Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $105.22 and a 12-month high of $137.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market cap of $10.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.70 and a beta of 0.79.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The insurance provider reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.03. American Financial Group had a net margin of 10.89% and a return on equity of 22.14%. The firm had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.99 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.99 earnings per share for the current year.

American Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th were issued a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 12th. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.22%. American Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 28.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on AFG shares. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $129.00 price objective on shares of American Financial Group in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of American Financial Group from $139.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Financial Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $133.50.

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.