Aflac Incorporated $AFL Position Lessened by Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI lowered its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 22.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 26,171 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,750 shares during the quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI’s holdings in Aflac were worth $2,871,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AlTi Global Inc. increased its position in Aflac by 105.8% in the first quarter. AlTi Global Inc. now owns 7,793 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $855,000 after buying an additional 4,006 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 1.5% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,550,855 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $499,216,000 after acquiring an additional 67,650 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Aflac by 1.3% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 10,284 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,128,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Decker Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the first quarter worth about $323,000. Finally, SEB Asset Management AB acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 1st quarter worth about $11,691,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Aflac Trading Down 0.6%

NYSE:AFL opened at $123.34 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $62.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.00, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $96.95 and a 1 year high of $125.93. The business has a fifty day moving average of $118.14 and a 200-day moving average of $113.92.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.20 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 25.60% and a return on equity of 13.88%. Aflac’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.66 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were given a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 20th. Aflac’s payout ratio is 27.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore upgraded shares of Aflac from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Aflac from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $124.00 price target (up from $114.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Aflac from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $115.50.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 27,845 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.71, for a total value of $3,249,789.95. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 50,898,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,940,362,767.90. This represents a 0.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 12,370 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.54, for a total transaction of $1,441,599.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 33,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,881,947.40. This trade represents a 27.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 744,916 shares of company stock worth $87,118,632 over the last 90 days. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Aflac

Aflac Incorporated (American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus) is a provider of supplemental insurance products designed to help policyholders manage out-of-pocket health care and living expenses. The company underwrites a range of individual and group policies that typically pay cash benefits directly to insureds when covered events occur, enabling greater financial flexibility for medical treatment, hospital stays, critical illness, and related costs. Aflac’s product mix includes supplemental health insurance, life insurance and other specialty coverages intended to complement primary medical plans.

Founded in the mid-20th century and headquartered in Columbus, Georgia, Aflac distributes its products through a combination of employer-sponsored programs, independent brokers and agents, and direct marketing.