Hsbc Holdings PLC Sells 16,935 Shares of American Financial Group, Inc. $AFG

Hsbc Holdings PLC decreased its stake in shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) by 17.4% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 80,655 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 16,935 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in American Financial Group were worth $10,316,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of American Financial Group by 2.3% in 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 last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in American Financial Group by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,732,557 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $236,645,000 after buying an additional 29,731 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake 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 worth $173,045,000 after buying an additional 138,483 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of American Financial Group by 33.2% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,026,783 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $149,623,000 after acquiring an additional 255,693 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of American Financial Group by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 894,998 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $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.

American Financial Group Trading Down 0.6%

NYSE:AFG opened at $140.63 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. American Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $122.11 and a 12 month high of $150.02. The company has a market cap of $11.68 billion, a PE ratio of 13.37 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $136.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $132.42.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.54 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $1.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. American Financial Group had a net margin of 10.76% and a return on equity of 19.50%. American Financial Group’s quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.81 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 11.37 earnings per share for the current year.

American Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 15th will be issued a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 15th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. American Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.46%.

Insider Transactions at American Financial Group

In other American Financial Group news, insider David Lawrence Thompson, Jr. sold 11,370 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.05, for a total value of $1,535,518.50. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 584,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $78,882,434.90. This trade represents a 1.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michelle A. Gillis sold 2,247 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.00, for a total value of $312,333.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 13,135 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,825,765. This represents a 14.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 16.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on AFG. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective 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. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of American Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on American Financial Group from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on American Financial Group from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Financial Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $150.75.

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.