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

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be given a dividend of 0.61 per share by the financial services provider on Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 19th.

Aflac has increased its dividend payment by an average of 0.2%per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 44 consecutive years. Aflac has a dividend payout ratio of 34.1% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Aflac to earn $7.66 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 31.9%.

Aflac Stock Performance

Aflac stock opened at $124.64 on Friday. Aflac has a 1-year low of $101.49 and a 1-year high of $130.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.44 billion, a PE ratio of 13.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.60. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $120.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $115.37.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly 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). The firm had revenue of $4.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.11 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 26.91% and a return on equity of 13.37%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.78 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Aflac will post 7.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In related news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 63,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.12, for a total transaction of $7,441,560.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 51,169,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,044,133,662.20. This trade represents a 0.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 744,073 shares of company stock worth $87,022,570. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AFL. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Groupe la Francaise purchased a new position in Aflac in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Aflac in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC purchased a new position in Aflac in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Evergreen Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Aflac in the first quarter worth $29,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Aflac Company 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.