D.A. Davidson & CO. Acquires New Position in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG)

D.A. Davidson & CO. acquired a new position in shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 3,354 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $441,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in American Financial Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $282,000. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of American Financial Group by 57.1% in the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 38,623 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $5,289,000 after buying an additional 14,045 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in American Financial Group by 10.5% during the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,427 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $713,000 after purchasing an additional 514 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. purchased a new stake in American Financial Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,014,000. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in American Financial Group by 144.3% during the 1st 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 during the period. 64.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

American Financial Group Trading Down 1.1%

NYSE AFG traded down $1.35 during trading on Friday, hitting $126.41. The stock had a trading volume of 394,388 shares, compared to its average volume of 419,248. The company has a market capitalization of $10.58 billion, a PE ratio of 13.28 and a beta of 0.71. 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 has a 50 day moving average price of $124.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $127.32. American Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $114.73 and a twelve month high of $150.19.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG - Get Free Report) last posted 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). The business had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.74 billion. American Financial Group had a net margin of 9.66% and a return on equity of 18.34%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.76 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.5 earnings per share for the current year.

American Financial Group Dividend Announcement

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