Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Has $10.11 Million Stock Position in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund decreased its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 33.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 91,674 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 46,100 shares during the quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Aflac were worth $10,109,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Navalign LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Activest Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Aflac by 95.6% during the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 311 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Aflac by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 324 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Aflac by 80.6% during the 4th quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC now owns 354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $118.37 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $96.95 and a 12 month high of $119.81. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $113.89 and a 200-day moving average of $111.80. The company has a market capitalization of $60.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.61.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its earnings results 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). Aflac had a return on equity of 13.88% and a net margin of 25.60%.The business had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.66 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.08 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were issued a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 20th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Aflac news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 166,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.38, for a total value of $18,655,080.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 51,723,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,812,641,978. This represents a 0.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 925,446 shares of company stock valued at $104,939,409. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on AFL. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Wall Street Zen raised Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Mizuho set a $104.00 price target on Aflac in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings lowered Aflac from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Evercore upgraded Aflac from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $112.27.

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.