Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Shares Bought by DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 16.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 438,578 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 62,491 shares during the quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale’s holdings in Aflac were worth $37,427,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,190,954 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $263,254,000 after buying an additional 17,892 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $197,820,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Aflac by 6.7% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,806,475 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $155,140,000 after purchasing an additional 113,226 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in Aflac by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,577,319 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $130,129,000 after purchasing an additional 64,202 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service raised its holdings in Aflac by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,483,726 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $122,407,000 after purchasing an additional 46,642 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Aflac Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of AFL traded down $2.41 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $99.24. 3,471,909 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,218,089. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $90.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $85.72. The company has a market cap of $56.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.95. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $72.78 and a 1-year high of $104.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $5.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.10 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.22% and a net margin of 28.35%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.58 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 21st. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.08%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Aflac from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Aflac from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Truist Financial raised their price target on Aflac from $82.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Aflac from $84.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $88.08.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 22,378 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.47, for a total value of $1,957,403.66. Following the transaction, the director now owns 61,522 shares in the company, valued at $5,381,329.34. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 22,378 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.47, for a total value of $1,957,403.66. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 61,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,381,329.34. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.84, for a total value of $50,904.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 27,550 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,337,342. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Company Profile

Aflac Incorporated, through its subsidiaries, provides supplemental health and life insurance products. The company operates through Aflac Japan and Aflac U.S. segments. The Aflac Japan segment offers cancer, medical, nursing care, work leave, GIFT, and whole and term life insurance products, as well as WAYS and child endowment plans under saving type insurance products in Japan.