Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Purchases 7,236 Shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG)

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) by 10.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 75,500 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,236 shares during the quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership’s holdings in American Financial Group were worth $10,338,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in American Financial Group by 86.8% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 340 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 91.2% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 520 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in American Financial Group by 301.1% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 702 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $94,000 after buying an additional 527 shares during the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in American Financial Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $125,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in American Financial Group by 31.6% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,059 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $145,000 after acquiring an additional 254 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.37% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gregory G. Joseph purchased 3,000 shares of American Financial Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $121.00 per share, for a total transaction of $363,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 57,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,954,717. The trade was a 5.51 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 14.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

American Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AFG opened at $121.78 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.52 and a beta of 0.59. American Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $118.97 and a 1-year high of $150.19. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $127.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $133.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.53 and a quick ratio of 0.53.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The insurance provider reported $3.12 earnings per share 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%. Research analysts expect that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. American Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.27%.

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.