MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH Lowers Stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH reduced its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 51.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,843 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 9,410 shares during the period. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH’s holdings in Aflac were worth $911,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Spinnaker Trust grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 2.7% during the third quarter. Spinnaker Trust now owns 3,620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $405,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 1.0% during the third quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 9,783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,094,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC grew its holdings in Aflac by 0.6% in the second quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 17,231 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,539,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC grew its holdings in Aflac by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 6,553 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $662,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Aflac by 23.2% in the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 531 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In related news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total value of $2,558,529.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 222,618 shares in the company, valued at $23,018,701.20. This represents a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:AFL opened at $104.82 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.00. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $75.07 and a 1-year high of $115.50. The company’s fifty day moving average is $106.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $105.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.08.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.47. The business had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.30 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 22.02% and a return on equity of 16.34%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 40.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.84 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.26 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. This is a positive change from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on AFL shares. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Aflac from $114.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Aflac from $103.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Aflac in a report on Thursday. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 target price for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Aflac presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $102.67.

About Aflac

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.