Bank of New York Mellon Corp Sells 13,556 Shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp cut its position in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG - Free Report) by 1.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 983,784 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 13,556 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned about 1.18% of American Financial Group worth $129,210,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sowell Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Financial Group in the first quarter worth $282,000. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 57.1% in the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 38,623 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $5,289,000 after purchasing an additional 14,045 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 10.5% in the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,427 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $713,000 after purchasing an additional 514 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. purchased a new position in American Financial Group during the first quarter valued at $1,014,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in American Financial Group by 31.4% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,389 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,102,000 after acquiring an additional 2,006 shares in the last quarter. 64.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on AFG. Wall Street Zen cut shares of American Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of American Financial Group from $125.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday.

American Financial Group Price Performance

AFG traded up $1.55 during trading on Thursday, hitting $127.77. 395,055 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 417,999. The company has a market cap of $10.69 billion, a PE ratio of 13.42 and a beta of 0.71. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $124.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $127.48. American Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $114.73 and a 1 year high of $150.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The insurance provider reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.17 by ($0.36). American Financial Group had a net margin of 9.66% and a return on equity of 18.34%. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.74 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.76 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.50%. American Financial Group's payout ratio is currently 33.61%.

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.