Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Announces Dividend Increase – $0.64 Per Share

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, November 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 17th will be given a dividend of $0.64 per share by the financial services provider on Monday, March 1st. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 17th. This is a 4.9% increase from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61.

Aflac has increased its dividend payment by an average of 0.2% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 44 consecutive years. Aflac has a payout ratio of 34.1% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Aflac to earn $7.76 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.44 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 31.4%.

Aflac Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of AFL stock opened at $126.41 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $118.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $116.57. Aflac has a fifty-two week low of $105.76 and a fifty-two week high of $131.18.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.63. Aflac had a net margin of 21.24% and a return on equity of 12.82%. The firm had revenue of $4.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.49 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 31.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Aflac will post 7.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In related news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.89, for a total value of $1,649,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 50,121,329 shares in the company, valued at $6,359,895,436.81. The trade was a 0.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Joseph Moskowitz sold 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.99, for a total transaction of $74,994.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 32,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,014,553.81. This trade represents a 1.83% 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 ninety days, insiders sold 699,562 shares of company stock worth $81,687,749. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aflac

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Aflac in the second quarter valued at $4,093,787,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in Aflac by 27.8% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,201,217 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $609,843,000 after buying an additional 1,132,091 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 98.0% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 5,223,056 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $583,833,000 after acquiring an additional 2,584,948 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,550,855 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $499,216,000 after acquiring an additional 67,650 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the 2nd quarter valued at about $404,639,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Aflac

Aflac Incorporated is an insurance company that provides supplemental health and life insurance to individuals and businesses. Its products are designed to help customers manage expenses that may not be covered by major medical insurance, including costs associated with accidents, cancer, critical illness and hospital stays. The company operates primarily in the United States and Japan. In the U.S., Aflac offers workplace benefits such as accident, disability, dental, vision and life insurance. In Japan, it provides products including cancer, medical and life insurance.