Deutsche Bank AG Takes Position in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,896,591 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $222,375,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Aflac by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 57,142,072 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,301,056,000 after purchasing an additional 6,759,169 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at $420,078,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the 2nd quarter worth $298,418,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 161.9% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,184,801 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $349,405,000 after buying an additional 1,968,738 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the 2nd quarter worth $145,675,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AFL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Aflac from $117.00 to $116.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $108.00 price target (up from $100.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings cut Aflac from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $99.00 price objective (up from $98.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Friday, August 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $117.58.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 63,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.12, for a total value of $7,441,560.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 51,169,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,044,133,662.20. This represents a 0.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 523,833 shares of company stock worth $61,339,113. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Up 0.6%

NYSE AFL opened at $121.74 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a fifty day moving average of $121.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $116.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.05, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.60. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $104.66 and a 52 week high of $130.22.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by ($0.01). Aflac had a net margin of 26.91% and a return on equity of 13.27%. The firm had revenue of $4.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.78 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

Aflac Company Profile

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.