Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Purchases 63,541 Shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG - Free Report) by 123.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 115,050 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 63,541 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.14% of American Financial Group worth $15,486,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 59.1% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,473 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $201,000 after acquiring an additional 547 shares during the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 17,110 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,335,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Norden Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Financial Group during the 1st quarter worth $885,000. Taylor Frigon Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Financial Group during the 1st quarter worth $1,512,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 62,607 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $8,545,000 after acquiring an additional 3,638 shares during the last quarter. 64.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Financial Group Trading Down 2.4 %

American Financial Group stock traded down $3.20 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $129.41. The company's stock had a trading volume of 249,818 shares, compared to its average volume of 301,110. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.46 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The stock has a market cap of $10.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.38 and a beta of 0.78. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $134.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $129.66. American Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $106.62 and a 12 month high of $138.81.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The insurance provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.45 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.72 billion. American Financial Group had a net margin of 11.06% and a return on equity of 21.16%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.38 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.99 EPS for the current year.

American Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th were paid a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 15th. This is an increase from American Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.47%. American Financial Group's payout ratio is currently 30.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of American Financial Group from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th.

American Financial Group Company 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.