Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Reduces Stock Position in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. cut its stake in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) by 0.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 567,682 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 2,660 shares during the quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. owned 0.68% of American Financial Group worth $74,559,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its holdings in American Financial Group by 2.5% in the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 9,303 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,221,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. bought a new position in shares of American Financial Group during the 1st quarter valued at $444,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 10.5% in the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,427 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $713,000 after buying an additional 514 shares during the last quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Financial Group in the first quarter worth $282,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 2.0% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 53,162 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,982,000 after acquiring an additional 1,033 shares during the period. 64.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on 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.

American Financial Group Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of AFG stock opened at $122.75 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. American Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $114.73 and a 12 month high of $150.19. The stock has a market cap of $10.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.89 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $125.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $129.07.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The insurance provider reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.17 by ($0.36). American Financial Group had a return on equity of 18.34% and a net margin of 9.66%. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.76 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.5 earnings per share for the current year.

American Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th were given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.61%. American Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 33.61%.

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.