Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Has $132.44 Million Holdings in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 5.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,207,226 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 75,300 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned 0.23% of Aflac worth $132,445,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Aflac during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Navalign LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the second quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 95.6% in the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 311 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:AFL traded down $0.01 during trading on Friday, hitting $121.98. 1,193,224 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,392,482. 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 cap of $62.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.85, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.61. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $116.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $113.28. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $96.95 and a 1-year high of $122.80.

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

Aflac Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were paid a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is 27.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 63,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.12, for a total value of $7,441,560.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 51,169,435 shares in the company, valued at $6,044,133,662.20. This trade represents a 0.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 744,916 shares of company stock valued at $87,118,632. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on AFL shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Aflac from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Mizuho set a $112.00 price objective on Aflac in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $108.00 target price (up from $100.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Friday. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on Aflac from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Aflac has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $114.08.

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.