Aflac Incorporated (AFL) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.61 on June 1st

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) announced a quarterly dividend on Monday, April 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th will be given a dividend of 0.61 per share by the financial services provider on Monday, June 1st. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 20th.

Aflac has increased its dividend payment by an average of 0.2%annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 44 years. Aflac has a dividend payout ratio of 34.1% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Aflac to earn $7.75 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 31.5%.

Aflac Stock Up 0.0%

AFL opened at $116.83 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.62. The business has a 50-day moving average of $111.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $111.28. Aflac has a 12 month low of $96.95 and a 12 month high of $119.32.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.05). Aflac had a return on equity of 13.88% and a net margin of 25.60%.The firm had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.66 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Aflac will post 7.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In related news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 24,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.36, for a total transaction of $2,791,712.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 51,564,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,948,462,839.20. This represents a 0.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Miwako Hosoda sold 243 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.50, for a total value of $27,823.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 7,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $886,573.50. The trade was a 3.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 648,375 shares of company stock valued at $72,256,429. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 57,142,072 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,301,056,000 after purchasing an additional 6,759,169 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 1.5% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,550,855 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $499,216,000 after purchasing an additional 67,650 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 0.3% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,926,777 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $438,621,000 after purchasing an additional 13,666 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at $420,078,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in Aflac by 161.9% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,184,801 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $349,405,000 after buying an additional 1,968,738 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Aflac

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.