Fox Run Management L.L.C. Purchases Shares of 2,821 American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG)

Fox Run Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 2,821 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $386,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC increased its position in American Financial Group by 3.8% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of American Financial Group by 4.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,693,356 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $362,526,000 after acquiring an additional 104,172 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 143,820 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in American Financial Group by 26.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 997,340 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $136,566,000 after purchasing an additional 207,285 shares during the period. Finally, Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH boosted its position in American Financial Group by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 607,677 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $83,209,000 after purchasing an additional 3,580 shares during the period. 64.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut American Financial Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $164.00 to $144.00 in a research note on Friday, February 7th.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Gregory G. Joseph purchased 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $121.00 per share, with a total value of $363,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly 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 SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 14.50% of the company’s stock.

American Financial Group Stock Performance

American Financial Group stock opened at $127.85 on Thursday. American Financial Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $118.97 and a 12-month 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 has a market capitalization of $10.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.10 and a beta of 0.79. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $128.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $133.89.

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

American Financial Group Dividend Announcement

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

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.