American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) Shares Bought by Blue Trust Inc.

Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) by 228.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,421 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 988 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in American Financial Group were worth $175,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Net Worth Advisory Group acquired a new stake in shares of American Financial Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $311,000. Trust Point Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American Financial Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $201,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 320.7% during the 3rd quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 1,077 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $145,000 after acquiring an additional 821 shares during the period. Hengehold Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 43.7% during the 3rd quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 58,728 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $7,905,000 after acquiring an additional 17,849 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Planning lifted its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 27,793 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,741,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares during the period. 64.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Financial Group Trading Down 2.4 %

Shares of AFG stock opened at $129.41 on Friday. American Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $106.62 and a 1-year high of $138.81. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $134.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $129.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.46 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The firm has a market cap of $10.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.21 and a beta of 0.78.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The insurance provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.45 by $0.11. American Financial Group had a net margin of 11.06% and a return on equity of 21.16%. The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.72 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.38 earnings per share. American Financial Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.99 EPS for the current year.

American Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th were issued a $0.80 dividend. This is a positive change from American Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.47%. American Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of American Financial Group from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th.

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.