Van ECK Associates Corp Sells 2,678 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Van ECK Associates Corp lowered its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 3.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 87,827 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,678 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Aflac were worth $7,844,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Atwood & Palmer Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 80.0% during the 1st quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the first quarter valued at $29,000. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the first quarter valued at about $34,000. Sachetta LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

NYSE:AFL opened at $110.36 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.80 billion, a PE ratio of 12.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.95. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $73.62 and a twelve month high of $110.68. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $97.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $89.19.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $5.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.10 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 28.35% and a return on equity of 16.22%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.58 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.81%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.08%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.94, for a total transaction of $197,880.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 18,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,796,552.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AFL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Aflac from $84.00 to $83.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 28th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Aflac from $82.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Aflac from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 19th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Aflac from $105.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Aflac from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $91.69.

Aflac 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.