William Blair Investment Management LLC Acquires 482 Shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG)

William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) by 32.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,989 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 482 shares during the quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings in American Financial Group were worth $272,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its position in American Financial Group by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 2,165 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $291,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 3.1% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 4,691 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $631,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 3.1% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 17,929 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,413,000 after buying an additional 544 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in American Financial Group by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 16,952 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,282,000 after buying an additional 1,146 shares during the period. Finally, Quest Partners LLC grew its holdings in American Financial Group by 166.1% in the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 7,078 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $953,000 after acquiring an additional 4,418 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.37% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at American Financial Group

In other American Financial Group news, Director Gregory G. Joseph bought 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $121.00 per share, for a total transaction of $363,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 57,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,954,717. This represents a 5.51 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 14.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

American Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of AFG stock opened at $125.01 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $128.96 and a 200 day moving average of $134.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.83 and a beta of 0.79. American Financial Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $118.97 and a 52 week high of $150.19.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last released its quarterly 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%. As a group, research analysts expect 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 announced a special dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $2.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. American Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently 30.27%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

About American Financial Group

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.