Norges Bank Invests $122.42 Million in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG)

Norges Bank bought a new stake in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 894,025 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $122,419,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.07% of American Financial Group at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in American Financial Group by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,287,861 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,134,857,000 after acquiring an additional 99,560 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 4.0% in 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. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of American Financial Group by 10.2% in 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 period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position 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 period. Finally, Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH increased its position in American Financial Group by 0.6% during 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 buying an additional 3,580 shares during the period. 64.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Activity at American Financial Group

In other news, Director Gregory G. Joseph bought 3,000 shares of American Financial Group 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 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 ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 14.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

American Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of AFG opened at $131.45 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.53. American Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $118.97 and a fifty-two week high of $150.19. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $127.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $133.79. The company has a market capitalization of $11.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.44 and a beta of 0.79.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last posted 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.5 earnings per share for the current year.

American Financial Group Announces Dividend

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

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.