Legal & General Group Plc Makes New $14.54 Million Investment in American Financial Group, Inc. $AFG

Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 103,935 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $14,545,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.13% of American Financial Group as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in shares of American Financial Group in the second quarter worth about $21,157,000. Paradigm Capital Management Inc. NY purchased a new position in American Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $903,000. Algert Global LLC grew its holdings in American Financial Group by 844.4% during the 2nd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 108,320 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $15,158,000 after buying an additional 96,850 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in American Financial Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,121,000. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. bought a new stake in American Financial Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $286,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.37% of the company’s stock.

American Financial Group Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of AFG stock opened at $143.55 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $11.90 billion, a PE ratio of 12.55 and a beta of 0.62. American Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.09 and a 1 year high of $150.02. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $142.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $134.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.49 and a quick ratio of 0.49.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The insurance provider reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.32 by $0.50. The firm had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.85 billion. American Financial Group had a return on equity of 20.35% and a net margin of 11.51%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.14 EPS. Research analysts predict that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 12.13 earnings per share for the current year.

American Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 15th were paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 15th. American Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently 30.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on AFG. Piper Sandler increased their target price on American Financial Group from $140.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of American Financial Group from $158.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of American Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of American Financial Group from $148.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of American Financial Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Financial Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $156.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Financial Group

In other news, insider David Lawrence Thompson, Jr. sold 11,370 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.05, for a total value of $1,535,518.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 584,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $78,882,434.90. This trade represents a 1.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Mark A. Weiss sold 2,813 shares of American Financial Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.76, for a total transaction of $407,209.88. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 6,648 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $962,364.48. This represents a 29.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 16,430 shares of company stock worth $2,255,061 over the last quarter. Insiders own 16.90% of the company’s stock.

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.