American Financial Group, Inc. $AFG Holdings Boosted by Hsbc Holdings PLC

Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) by 72.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 97,590 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 40,888 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in American Financial Group were worth $13,346,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in American Financial Group by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,567,721 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $350,956,000 after purchasing an additional 57,246 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position 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 period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in 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 valued at $173,045,000 after buying an additional 138,483 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in American Financial Group by 33.2% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,026,783 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $149,623,000 after buying an additional 255,693 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings 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 during the period. 64.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Michelle A. Gillis sold 2,247 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.00, for a total transaction of $312,333.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 13,135 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,825,765. The trade was a 14.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider David Lawrence Thompson, Jr. sold 11,370 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider directly owned 584,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $78,882,434.90. This represents a 1.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 16.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on AFG. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of American Financial Group from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of American Financial Group from $134.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of American Financial Group from $155.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of American Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $145.00.

American Financial Group Stock Performance

NYSE:AFG opened at $142.60 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $134.39 and a 200-day moving average of $132.15. The firm has a market cap of $11.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.55 and a beta of 0.62. 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 twelve month low of $122.11 and a twelve month high of $150.02.

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

American Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. American Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.46%.

About American Financial Group

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.