American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) Shares Purchased by Jones Financial Companies Lllp

Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) by 91.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 520 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 248 shares during the quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp’s holdings in American Financial Group were worth $71,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFG. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in American Financial Group by 26.2% in 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 during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in American Financial Group by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,516,351 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $742,501,000 after purchasing an additional 202,522 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in American Financial Group by 78.3% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 333,078 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $44,832,000 after purchasing an additional 146,237 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in American Financial Group by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,553,207 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $208,699,000 after purchasing an additional 143,820 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its stake in American Financial Group by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,693,356 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $362,526,000 after purchasing an additional 104,172 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.37% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered shares of American Financial Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $164.00 to $144.00 in a research note on Friday, February 7th.

Insider Activity at American Financial Group

In other news, Director Gregory G. Joseph bought 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $121.00 per share, for a total transaction of $363,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 57,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,954,717. The trade was a 5.51 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 14.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

American Financial Group Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:AFG opened at $126.57 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $129.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $134.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.97 and a beta of 0.79. American Financial Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $118.97 and a 12-month high of $150.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The insurance provider reported $3.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by ($0.03). American Financial Group had a net margin of 10.66% and a return on equity of 20.30%. On average, equities analysts expect that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a special dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $2.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. American Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently 30.27%.

American Financial Group Profile

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.