Raymond James & Associates Buys 969 Shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG)

Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) by 6.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,157 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 969 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in American Financial Group were worth $1,988,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its holdings in American Financial Group by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 431,218 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $53,048,000 after buying an additional 11,897 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of American Financial Group by 44.3% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 433 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 302.7% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 51,509 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,337,000 after acquiring an additional 38,718 shares during the period. Hengehold Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of American Financial Group by 60.1% during the second quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 40,879 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $5,029,000 after purchasing an additional 15,347 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversified Trust Co raised its stake in American Financial Group by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 2,105 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $259,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. 64.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Citigroup downgraded American Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $144.00 to $137.00 in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $131.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Financial Group

In related news, Director Amy Y. Murray purchased 1,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 28th. The stock was bought at an average price of $125.17 per share, for a total transaction of $150,204.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $150,204. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 14.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

American Financial Group Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of American Financial Group stock opened at $133.09 on Wednesday. American Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $105.22 and a twelve month high of $137.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $127.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $128.40. The firm has a market cap of $11.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.74 and a beta of 0.78.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The insurance provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.45 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.72 billion. American Financial Group had a return on equity of 21.16% and a net margin of 11.06%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.38 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Investors of record on Monday, July 15th were paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 15th. American Financial Group’s payout ratio is 27.18%.

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.