William Blair Investment Management LLC Has $292,000 Holdings in American Financial Group, Inc. $AFG

William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its position in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) by 16.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,311 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 322 shares during the quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings in American Financial Group were worth $292,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in American Financial Group by 10.8% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 59,633 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $7,832,000 after buying an additional 5,799 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new stake in American Financial Group in the 1st quarter worth $1,370,000. Private Trust Co. NA grew its position in American Financial Group by 144.3% in the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 215 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. acquired a new stake in American Financial Group in the 1st quarter worth $1,014,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in American Financial Group by 31.4% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,389 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,102,000 after purchasing an additional 2,006 shares during the last quarter. 64.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AFG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of American Financial Group from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of American Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of American Financial Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of American Financial Group from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, American Financial Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $136.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

American Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of American Financial Group stock opened at $130.63 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.47. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $138.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $129.95. American Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $114.73 and a twelve month high of $150.19. The firm has a market cap of $10.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.35 and a beta of 0.74.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The insurance provider reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.06. American Financial Group had a net margin of 9.21% and a return on equity of 17.41%. The business had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.56 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 15th will be given a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. This is a boost from American Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 15th. American Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.68%.

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.