Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Shares Sold by Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lessened its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,322,561 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 71,202 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. owned about 0.24% of Aflac worth $136,806,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 75.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 776,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $88,533,000 after acquiring an additional 333,083 shares in the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 79.7% in the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 27,354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,058,000 after acquiring an additional 12,131 shares in the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the third quarter worth $979,000. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 4.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,202,104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $134,395,000 after acquiring an additional 45,745 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the third quarter worth $250,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total value of $2,558,529.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 222,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,018,701.20. This represents a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of AFL opened at $107.39 on Wednesday. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $75.07 and a 1-year high of $115.50. The stock has a market cap of $59.66 billion, a PE ratio of 16.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.08 and a quick ratio of 0.08. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $105.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $106.25.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.47. Aflac had a net margin of 22.02% and a return on equity of 16.34%. The firm had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.30 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.84 earnings per share. Aflac’s quarterly revenue was down 40.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.26 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. This is a boost from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Aflac from $108.00 to $107.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Aflac in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 target price for the company. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Aflac from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $102.67.

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.