Csenge Advisory Group Takes Position in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Csenge Advisory Group acquired a new position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 16,275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,908,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. DNB Asset Management AS lifted its stake in shares of Aflac by 51.3% in the fourth quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 168,003 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,526,000 after buying an additional 56,975 shares in the last quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at about $3,743,000. Atlas Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the first quarter worth about $1,802,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its position in shares of Aflac by 77.3% during the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 63,646 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,018,000 after acquiring an additional 27,751 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Aflac by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,072,717 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $118,256,000 after acquiring an additional 46,262 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Aflac Trading Down 4.3%

NYSE:AFL opened at $116.48 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a current ratio of 0.12. The firm has a market cap of $58.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.60. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $104.66 and a 52 week high of $130.22. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $121.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $116.09.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $4.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.11 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 26.91%.Aflac’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.78 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be given a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AFL has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $124.00 price target (up from $114.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective (up from $101.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $108.00 price objective (up from $100.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $138.00 target price (up from $130.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $116.62.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 shares were sold at an average price of $118.12, for a total transaction of $7,441,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 51,169,435 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,044,133,662.20. This trade represents a 0.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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. Insiders have sold a total of 507,333 shares of company stock worth $59,450,256 in the last three months. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.