Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI Buys New Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,921 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $327,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new stake in Aflac during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Aflac in the 1st quarter worth approximately $50,000. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new position in Aflac during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $54,000. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Aflac by 178.6% during the 2nd quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 624 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Price Performance

NYSE AFL opened at $112.02 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $63.65 billion, a PE ratio of 12.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.95. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $110.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $96.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.10 and a current ratio of 0.10. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $75.07 and a twelve month high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.23. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.22% and a net margin of 28.35%. The company had revenue of $5.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.58 earnings per share. Aflac’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.76 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 was Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.79%. Aflac’s payout ratio is 22.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AFL. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Aflac in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Aflac from $84.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $114.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Aflac from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $96.00 price target on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $97.53.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.94, for a total transaction of $197,880.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,158 shares in the company, valued at $1,796,552.52. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.