Amundi Decreases Holdings in American Financial Group, Inc. $AFG

Amundi cut its holdings in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG - Free Report) by 26.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 251,726 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 90,587 shares during the period. Amundi owned about 0.30% of American Financial Group worth $32,988,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AFG. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in American Financial Group by 395.5% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,520,714 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $331,071,000 after buying an additional 2,012,027 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in American Financial Group in the first quarter valued at $30,442,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in American Financial Group by 112.5% in the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 327,621 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $43,030,000 after buying an additional 173,452 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in American Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at $20,675,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in American Financial Group by 6,414.6% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 129,967 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $17,070,000 after buying an additional 127,972 shares in the last quarter. 64.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of AFG stock traded up $2.08 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $139.27. 251,087 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 496,770. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $130.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $127.02. American Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $114.73 and a 1-year high of $150.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.47 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The firm has a market cap of $11.61 billion, a PE ratio of 15.30 and a beta of 0.73.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The insurance provider reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.06. American Financial Group had a return on equity of 17.41% and a net margin of 9.21%.The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.56 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th were paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. American Financial Group's payout ratio is currently 35.16%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Stephen Craig Lindner, Jr. sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.31, for a total transaction of $1,343,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 326,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at $43,883,106.30. The trade was a 2.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 17.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on AFG shares. Wall Street Zen cut American Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on American Financial Group from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on American Financial Group from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, American Financial Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $136.75.

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.