Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Raises Stock Position in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) by 28.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,193 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,556 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in American Financial Group were worth $2,217,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in American Financial Group by 3.8% in the third 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 last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in American Financial Group by 4.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,693,356 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $362,526,000 after acquiring an additional 104,172 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in American Financial Group by 10.2% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,553,207 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $208,699,000 after acquiring an additional 143,820 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised 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 acquiring an additional 207,285 shares during the period. Finally, Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH raised its position in American Financial Group by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 607,677 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $83,209,000 after acquiring an additional 3,580 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.37% of the company’s stock.

American Financial Group Stock Up 1.8 %

AFG opened at $127.25 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.69 billion, a PE ratio of 12.04 and a beta of 0.79. 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 $129.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $134.28. The company has a current ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The insurance provider reported $3.12 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.15 by ($0.03). American Financial Group had a net margin of 10.66% and a return on equity of 20.30%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.5 EPS for the current year.

American Financial Group Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Gregory G. Joseph acquired 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $121.00 per share, for a total transaction of $363,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 57,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,954,717. This trade represents a 5.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 14.50% of the company’s stock.

American Financial Group Company 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.