Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Has $80.21 Million Position in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. raised its holdings in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) by 6.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 585,751 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 34,539 shares during the quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. owned about 0.70% of American Financial Group worth $80,207,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFG. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 26.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 997,340 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $136,566,000 after purchasing an additional 207,285 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in American Financial Group by 3.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,516,351 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $742,501,000 after buying an additional 202,522 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of American Financial Group by 78.3% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 333,078 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $44,832,000 after buying an additional 146,237 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 worth $208,699,000 after acquiring an additional 143,820 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 104,172 shares during the last quarter. 64.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of AFG stock opened at $128.56 on Tuesday. American Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $118.97 and a 12 month high of $150.19. The company has a market capitalization of $10.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.16 and a beta of 0.83. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $131.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $134.55. 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 issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 20.30% and a net margin of 10.66%. As a group, equities analysts expect that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.5 EPS for the current year.

American Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a special dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $2.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. American Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.27%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Gregory G. Joseph bought 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was bought at an average price of $121.00 per share, for a total transaction of $363,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 57,477 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Corporate insiders own 14.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AFG has been the subject of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on American Financial Group from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of American Financial Group from $135.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered shares of American Financial Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $164.00 to $144.00 in a research report on Friday, February 7th.

American Financial Group 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.