Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Raises Holdings in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 411,305 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,916 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned 0.08% of Aflac worth $45,943,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the second quarter worth $432,201,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Aflac by 16.7% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,167,886 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $439,545,000 after purchasing an additional 594,971 shares during the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in Aflac in the 2nd quarter valued at about $60,954,000. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in Aflac by 459.0% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 701,390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $73,969,000 after purchasing an additional 575,915 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 146.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 772,061 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $81,422,000 after purchasing an additional 458,551 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of AFL opened at $108.50 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.67. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $110.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $107.91. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $96.95 and a twelve month high of $115.83.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.72. The firm had revenue of $4.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.36 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 14.97% and a net margin of 23.55%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 59.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.16 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $0.61 per share. This is a boost from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other Aflac news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 15,862 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.00, for a total transaction of $1,776,544.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 230,688 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,837,056. The trade was a 6.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Frederic Jean Guy Simard sold 1,722 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total transaction of $193,725.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 1,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $153,450. This represents a 55.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 31,766 shares of company stock worth $3,549,706. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho began coverage on shares of Aflac in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $104.00 price objective for the company. Barclays set a $101.00 price target on Aflac and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Aflac from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Aflac from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $119.00 price target (up from $110.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $110.67.

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.