Weiss Asset Management LP Raises Position in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Weiss Asset Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 1,190.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 110,685 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 102,105 shares during the period. Weiss Asset Management LP’s holdings in Aflac were worth $12,143,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. DNB Asset Management AS boosted its stake in Aflac by 51.3% in the 4th quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 168,003 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,526,000 after purchasing an additional 56,975 shares in the last quarter. BIP Wealth LLC increased its stake in Aflac by 348.3% during the 4th quarter. BIP Wealth LLC now owns 55,723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,145,000 after purchasing an additional 43,293 shares in the last quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas acquired a new position in Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,743,000. Dorato Capital Management acquired a new position in Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $20,865,000. Finally, Atlas Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the first quarter worth $1,802,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on AFL shares. Mizuho set a $112.00 price objective on shares of Aflac in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings raised Aflac from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Thursday. Barclays reduced their target price on Aflac from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $108.00 price target (up from $100.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Aflac from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $116.17.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In related news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 27,845 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.71, for a total value of $3,249,789.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 50,898,490 shares in the company, valued at $5,940,362,767.90. The trade was a 0.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 12,370 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.54, for a total transaction of $1,441,599.80. Following the sale, the director directly owned 33,310 shares in the company, valued at $3,881,947.40. This trade represents a 27.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 744,916 shares of company stock worth $87,118,632. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of AFL opened at $125.61 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $118.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $114.19. The company has a market capitalization of $63.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.61. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $96.95 and a fifty-two week high of $125.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.66 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.06 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were issued 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 yield of 1.9%. Aflac’s payout ratio is presently 27.70%.

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.