Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 2,660 Shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its position in shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG - Free Report) by 0.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 567,682 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 2,660 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. owned 0.68% of American Financial Group worth $74,559,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of American Financial Group by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,287,861 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,134,857,000 after purchasing an additional 99,560 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in American Financial Group by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,595,346 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $218,146,000 after acquiring an additional 42,139 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in American Financial Group by 26.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 997,340 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $136,566,000 after acquiring an additional 207,285 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in American Financial Group by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 996,724 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $136,481,000 after acquiring an additional 63,193 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in American Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth about $122,419,000. 64.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of AFG traded up $1.11 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $123.80. The company's stock had a trading volume of 703,172 shares, compared to its average volume of 409,339. The company has a market cap of $10.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.00 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $125.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $128.71. American Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $114.73 and a 52-week high of $150.19.

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). The business had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.74 billion. American Financial Group had a return on equity of 18.34% and a net margin of 9.66%. American Financial Group's revenue for the quarter was down 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.76 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th were issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 15th. American Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of American Financial Group from $126.00 to $125.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of American Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $138.75.

American Financial Group Company 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.