Blue Trust Inc. Sells 640 Shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG)

Blue Trust Inc. cut its stake in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) by 45.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 781 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 640 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in American Financial Group were worth $107,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AFG. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of American Financial Group by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,516,351 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $742,501,000 after buying an additional 202,522 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in American Financial Group by 78.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 333,078 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $44,832,000 after purchasing an additional 146,237 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in American Financial Group by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,553,207 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $208,699,000 after purchasing an additional 143,820 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in American Financial Group by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,693,356 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $362,526,000 after purchasing an additional 104,172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in American Financial Group by 123.4% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 115,050 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $15,486,000 after purchasing an additional 63,541 shares during the last quarter. 64.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AFG opened at $119.80 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $118.97 and a 1 year high of $150.19. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $132.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $134.59. The stock has a market cap of $10.05 billion, a PE ratio of 11.33 and a beta of 0.83.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The insurance provider reported $3.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.15 by ($0.03). American Financial Group had a return on equity of 20.30% and a net margin of 10.66%. Equities analysts anticipate that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th were given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.67%. American Financial Group’s payout ratio is 30.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of American Financial Group from $135.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded shares of American Financial Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $164.00 to $144.00 in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of American Financial Group from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th.

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.