Bridges Investment Management Inc. Acquires 30,204 Shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG)

Bridges Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG - Free Report) by 42.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 100,595 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 30,204 shares during the quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.12% of American Financial Group worth $13,212,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. grew its position in shares of American Financial Group by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. now owns 1,727 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $222,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 4,127 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $565,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Utah Retirement Systems lifted its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Utah Retirement Systems now owns 11,917 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,632,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 144.3% in the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 215 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,101 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $423,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.37% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AFG. Wall Street Zen cut American Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, June 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on American Financial Group from $125.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday.

American Financial Group Stock Down 1.1%

NYSE:AFG traded down $1.35 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $126.41. 394,388 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 418,548. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $124.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $127.40. American Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $114.73 and a one year high of $150.19. The company has a market cap of $10.58 billion, a PE ratio of 13.28 and a beta of 0.71.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 the consensus estimate of $1.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.76 earnings per share. American Financial Group's revenue was down 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.5 earnings per share for the current year.

American Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. American Financial Group's payout ratio is 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.