1,896,591 Shares in Aflac Incorporated $AFL Acquired by Deutsche Bank AG

Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,896,591 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $222,375,000. Deutsche Bank AG owned 0.37% of Aflac at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 57,142,072 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,301,056,000 after purchasing an additional 6,759,169 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 1.5% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,550,855 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $499,216,000 after purchasing an additional 67,650 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at $420,078,000. Amundi raised its position in shares of Aflac by 22.6% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 3,268,209 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $358,555,000 after purchasing an additional 603,426 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Aflac by 161.9% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,184,801 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $349,405,000 after purchasing an additional 1,968,738 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AFL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Aflac from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered Aflac from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday. Mizuho set a $116.00 price target on Aflac in a report on Monday, August 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Aflac from $117.00 to $116.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $110.00 price objective (up from $101.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $117.58.

Aflac Trading Up 0.6%

Aflac stock opened at $121.74 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $61.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.05, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.12 and a quick ratio of 0.12. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $104.66 and a 1 year high of $130.22. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $121.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $116.04.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.76 by ($0.01). Aflac had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 26.91%.The company had revenue of $4.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.11 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.78 EPS. Aflac's quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be paid a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Aflac's payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other Aflac news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 14,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.43, for a total transaction of $1,712,163.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 50,858,590 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,175,758,583.70. This represents a 0.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.10, for a total value of $74,460.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 32,710 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,059,311. The trade was a 1.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 523,833 shares of company stock worth $61,339,113. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Aflac Profile

Aflac Incorporated (American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus) is a provider of supplemental insurance products designed to help policyholders manage out-of-pocket health care and living expenses. The company underwrites a range of individual and group policies that typically pay cash benefits directly to insureds when covered events occur, enabling greater financial flexibility for medical treatment, hospital stays, critical illness, and related costs. Aflac's product mix includes supplemental health insurance, life insurance and other specialty coverages intended to complement primary medical plans.

Founded in the mid-20th century and headquartered in Columbus, Georgia, Aflac distributes its products through a combination of employer-sponsored programs, independent brokers and agents, and direct marketing.

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