KBC Group NV Raises Stake in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG)

KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG - Free Report) by 234.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 72,877 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 51,070 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV owned about 0.09% of American Financial Group worth $9,979,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AFG. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in American Financial Group by 78.3% in the 3rd 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 period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in 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 worth $208,699,000 after buying an additional 143,820 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in 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 worth $362,526,000 after buying an additional 104,172 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in American Financial Group by 123.4% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 115,050 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $15,486,000 after acquiring an additional 63,541 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.37% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AFG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on American Financial Group from $165.00 to $164.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on American Financial Group from $135.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on American Financial Group from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th.

American Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AFG traded up $0.80 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $138.20. 128,021 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 257,609. The company has a market capitalization of $11.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.97 and a beta of 0.83. American Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $115.64 and a 1 year high of $150.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.53 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The company's 50-day moving average is $138.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $134.59.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The insurance provider reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.51 by ($0.20). American Financial Group had a net margin of 10.84% and a return on equity of 19.97%. The company had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.45 earnings per share. American Financial Group's revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th were issued a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.32%. American Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.99%.

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.