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

Bank of New York Mellon Corp trimmed its stake in shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG - Free Report) by 1.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the 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 1.18% of American Financial Group worth $129,210,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AFG. Private Trust Co. NA grew its stake in American Financial Group by 144.3% during the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 215 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Natixis purchased a new position in American Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in American Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at $53,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in American Financial Group by 91.2% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 520 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. purchased a new position in American Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at $73,000. 64.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. 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 lifted their price objective on shares of American Financial Group from $125.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday.

American Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AFG traded down $1.35 on Friday, reaching $126.41. The company's stock had a trading volume of 394,388 shares, compared to its average volume of 419,248. American Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $114.73 and a 52-week high of $150.19. The company has a market cap of $10.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.28 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $124.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $127.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67.

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

American Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.53%. American Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.