Empowered Funds LLC Acquires 20,939 Shares of Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 47.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 65,296 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,939 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $7,164,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake 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 valued at $6,301,056,000 after buying an additional 6,759,169 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter worth approximately $420,078,000. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Aflac by 161.9% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,184,801 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $349,405,000 after acquiring an additional 1,968,738 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Aflac by 1,184.5% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,264,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $141,199,000 after acquiring an additional 1,165,676 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in Aflac by 390.7% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,111,711 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $122,588,000 after acquiring an additional 885,141 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In related news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 27,845 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.71, for a total transaction of $3,249,789.95. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 50,898,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,940,362,767.90. This represents a 0.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 12,370 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.54, for a total transaction of $1,441,599.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 33,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,881,947.40. The trade was a 27.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 744,916 shares of company stock valued at $87,118,632 in the last quarter. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AFL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $130.00 price target (up from $125.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Aflac from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Mizuho set a $112.00 price objective on shares of Aflac in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 target price (up from $101.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $116.17.

Aflac Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE AFL opened at $127.53 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $119.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $114.80. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $96.95 and a one year high of $130.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 25.60% and a return on equity of 13.88%. Aflac’s quarterly revenue was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.66 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.06 earnings per share for the current year.

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.