Bridges Investment Management Inc. Purchases 3,541 Shares of American Financial Group, Inc. $AFG

Bridges Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) by 3.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 104,136 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,541 shares during the quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in American Financial Group were worth $13,143,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Xponance Inc. lifted its holdings in American Financial Group by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 11,882 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,561,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. lifted its holdings in American Financial Group by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. now owns 1,727 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $222,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co lifted its holdings in American Financial Group by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 2,356 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $297,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in American Financial Group by 15.6% in the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 776 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $98,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional lifted its holdings in American Financial Group by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 2,839 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $358,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. 64.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on AFG shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on American Financial Group from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Wall Street Zen raised American Financial Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 13th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of American Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on American Financial Group from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, American Financial Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $136.75.

Insider Transactions at American Financial Group

In related news, Director Stephen Craig Lindner, Jr. sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.31, for a total value of $1,343,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 326,730 shares in the company, valued at $43,883,106.30. This trade represents a 2.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 17.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

American Financial Group Stock Performance

NYSE:AFG opened at $136.47 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.47 and a quick ratio of 0.47. American Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $114.73 and a 1 year high of $150.19. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $138.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $129.91. The company has a market cap of $11.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.00 and a beta of 0.74.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The insurance provider reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.06. American Financial Group had a return on equity of 17.41% and a net margin of 9.21%.The business had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.56 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 15th will be given a $0.88 dividend. This is a boost from American Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 15th. American Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is 35.16%.

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.