Merit Financial Group LLC Takes Position in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG)

Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 3,837 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $504,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,287,861 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,134,857,000 after acquiring an additional 99,560 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,595,346 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $218,146,000 after acquiring an additional 42,139 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 26.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 997,340 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $136,566,000 after acquiring an additional 207,285 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 996,724 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $136,481,000 after acquiring an additional 63,193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of American Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $122,419,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.37% of the company's stock.

American Financial Group Trading Down 1.3%

NYSE AFG traded down $1.66 during trading on Friday, hitting $123.70. The stock had a trading volume of 612,655 shares, compared to its average volume of 403,722. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.70 and a beta of 0.73. American Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $114.73 and a one year high of $150.19. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $125.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $129.45.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The insurance provider reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.17 by ($0.36). The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.74 billion. American Financial Group had a return on equity of 20.30% and a net margin of 10.66%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.76 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.5 earnings per share for the current year.

American Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th were paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 15th. American Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 33.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of American Financial Group from $126.00 to $125.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th.

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.