Forsta AP Fonden Buys 113,000 Shares of Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Forsta AP Fonden lifted its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 104.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 221,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 113,000 shares during the quarter. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in Aflac were worth $24,425,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AFL. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 57,142,072 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,301,056,000 after acquiring an additional 6,759,169 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter worth $420,078,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 1,184.5% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,264,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $141,199,000 after acquiring an additional 1,165,676 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 132.4% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,227,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $137,078,000 after acquiring an additional 699,080 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 180.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 252,457 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,320,000 after acquiring an additional 565,884 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AFL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $116.00 to $114.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Aflac from $116.00 to $111.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Evercore upgraded shares of Aflac from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Mizuho set a $104.00 price target on shares of Aflac in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Aflac currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $112.27.

Aflac News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Aflac this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Aflac issued yen-denominated senior notes, which should improve financial flexibility and support capital management. Aflac Issues Yen-Denominated Senior Notes for Flexibility
• Positive Sentiment: Recent analyst estimates remain slightly above current consensus, with DOWLING & PARTN projecting modest earnings growth into FY2027 and FY2028, suggesting longer-term earnings momentum. Aflac analyst estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: Several insider sales by Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan were disclosed, but they were pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 transactions and represent only small reductions in ownership. Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan Sells 31,100 Shares of Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: EVP Steven Kent Beaver also sold shares in a disclosed transaction, which may weigh on sentiment but does not appear to signal a fundamental change. Steven Kent Beaver Sells 5,508 Shares of Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Aflac’s last quarterly report missed EPS expectations, and some analysts have trimmed or only maintained cautious ratings, limiting upside enthusiasm. Aflac earnings and analyst coverage

Aflac Price Performance

AFL opened at $112.37 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $113.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $111.78. 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 Incorporated has a 1 year low of $96.95 and a 1 year high of $119.81. The firm has a market cap of $57.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.76, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.62.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.20 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 25.60% and a return on equity of 13.88%. The business’s revenue was up 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.66 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 20th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is 27.70%.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In other news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 166,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.38, for a total transaction of $18,655,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 51,723,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,812,641,978. This represents a 0.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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. Insiders have sold 910,436 shares of company stock worth $103,126,371 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

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.