Van ECK Associates Corp Acquires 10,973 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 14.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 84,668 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,973 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Aflac were worth $6,985,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Flputnam Investment Management Co. increased its stake in Aflac by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 25,031 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,065,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Baystate Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Aflac by 24.1% in the third quarter. Baystate Wealth Management LLC now owns 675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Aflac by 2.3% in the third quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,156 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $472,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Aflac by 3.7% in the third quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,779 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $290,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Simon Quick Advisors LLC increased its stake in Aflac by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 2,950 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $243,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AFL opened at $83.21 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $47.88 billion, a PE ratio of 9.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.06 and a current ratio of 0.06. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $64.10 and a 52 week high of $86.26. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $83.08 and its 200-day moving average is $81.87.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.08. Aflac had a net margin of 27.67% and a return on equity of 17.24%. The business had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.55 earnings per share. Aflac’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 22nd will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This is an increase from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 21st. Aflac’s payout ratio is 22.08%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Aflac from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Aflac from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Aflac from $61.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Aflac from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $82.31.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other news, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.62, for a total transaction of $423,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 17,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,516,390.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.62, for a total transaction of $423,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 17,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,516,390.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.73, for a total transaction of $239,190.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $445,850.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 46,493 shares of company stock valued at $3,765,706. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

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.