Victory Capital Management Inc. Has $456.36 Million Holdings in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG - Free Report) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,838,501 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 191,269 shares during the quarter. American Financial Group comprises approximately 0.5% of Victory Capital Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 4.58% of American Financial Group worth $456,359,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AFG. FMR LLC grew its stake in American Financial Group by 16.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,710,065 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $525,973,000 after buying an additional 654,442 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. raised its position in American Financial Group by 447.1% in the third quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 259,491 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $28,977,000 after purchasing an additional 212,057 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 1,804.5% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 96,652 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $11,491,000 after purchasing an additional 91,577 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of American Financial Group by 1.0% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,288,375 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $925,563,000 after buying an additional 81,293 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 7.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 838,468 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $93,632,000 after buying an additional 56,267 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.37% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at American Financial Group

In other American Financial Group news, CFO Brian S. Hertzman sold 1,067 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.95, for a total transaction of $135,455.65. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,583 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,343,511.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Lehman John I. Von sold 1,773 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.48, for a total transaction of $222,476.04. Following the sale, the director now owns 12,343 shares in the company, valued at $1,548,799.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Brian S. Hertzman sold 1,067 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.95, for a total value of $135,455.65. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,583 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,343,511.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,843 shares of company stock valued at $1,854,746 over the last three months. 14.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on AFG. Piper Sandler restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $129.00 price target on shares of American Financial Group in a report on Monday, April 1st. Citigroup upped their target price 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $133.50.

American Financial Group Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of AFG traded up $0.93 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $128.68. The company's stock had a trading volume of 192,470 shares, compared to its average volume of 332,888. American Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $105.22 and a twelve 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 company has a market cap of $10.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.84 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a fifty day moving average of $129.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $120.87.

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

American Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 25th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th were paid a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 12th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. American Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.26%.

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.