Aflac Incorporated $AFL Shares Bought by NEOS Investment Management LLC

NEOS Investment Management LLC increased its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 12.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 75,901 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,106 shares during the period. NEOS Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $8,899,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AFL. Stephens Inc. AR increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 21,945 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,420,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. Compound Planning Inc. grew its holdings in Aflac by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 13,743 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,508,000 after buying an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC increased its position in Aflac by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $234,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC increased its position in Aflac by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 7,702 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $902,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, Great Diamond Partners LLC raised its stake in Aflac by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Great Diamond Partners LLC now owns 23,541 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,596,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Aflac news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.19, for a total value of $1,582,065.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 50,687,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,940,090,391.10. This represents a 0.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 481,915 shares of company stock valued at $56,604,185 in the last quarter. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AFL shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Aflac in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $103.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Aflac from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $124.00 price objective (up from $114.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Mizuho set a $116.00 target price on shares of Aflac in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $116.62.

Key Aflac News

Here are the key news stories impacting Aflac this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Aflac partnered with actor Ben Affleck and its iconic duck for a new advertising campaign, including branded billboards and social-media activity in Los Angeles. The campaign could increase consumer awareness and support future policy sales, although its direct financial impact is uncertain. Ben Affleck and the Aflac Duck Unite for New Ad Campaign
• Positive Sentiment: Aflac remains attractive to income-focused and defensive investors. The company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.61 per share, equivalent to $2.44 annually, with an approximately 2.1% yield and a payout ratio near 26%. A recent dividend-focused article also recognized Aflac’s long record of annual increases. Safe High-Yield Dividend Stocks
• Neutral Sentiment: The Ben Affleck billboard activity appears to be a planned publicity campaign rather than actual vandalism. It may generate short-term brand engagement, but no revenue, earnings guidance or other measurable financial benefit was announced. Ben Affleck Aflac Advertising Campaign
• Negative Sentiment: Japan Post Holdings, a major Aflac shareholder, sold 13,500 shares for approximately $1.58 million on September 2 and has reported several similar sales in recent weeks. The latest transaction reduced its stake by only about 0.03% and was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, limiting its significance, but the repeated selling may create a modest supply overhang. Aflac Major Shareholder SEC Filing

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $117.09 on Friday. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $104.66 and a 1 year high of $130.22. The firm has a market cap of $58.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.55, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.59. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $121.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $116.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a current ratio of 0.12.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $4.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.11 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 26.91%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.78 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th were given a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Aflac’s payout ratio is 26.15%.

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.