Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. Increases Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. boosted its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 218,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,200 shares during the quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $22,571,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AFL. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. BankPlus Trust Department bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the third quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of Aflac by 41.8% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In related news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total transaction of $2,558,529.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 222,618 shares of the company’s stock, 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 link. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on AFL shares. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Aflac from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Aflac in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays lowered their target price on Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $102.86.

Aflac Stock Performance

AFL stock opened at $107.45 on Friday. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $78.62 and a twelve month high of $115.50. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $104.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $107.46. The firm has a market cap of $59.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.19, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by ($0.07). Aflac had a return on equity of 16.20% and a net margin of 28.76%. Analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.58 per share. This is a boost from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is 24.17%.

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.