Handelsbanken Fonder AB Purchases 7,694 Shares of Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 5.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 156,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,694 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Aflac were worth $18,309,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Stephens Inc. AR grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 21,945 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,420,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the period. Compound Planning Inc. raised its stake in Aflac by 0.7% during 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 during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC raised its stake in Aflac by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $234,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co lifted its holdings in Aflac by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 19,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,105,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HBK Sorce Advisory LLC grew its stake in Aflac by 1.2% in the fourth 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. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Aflac from $117.00 to $116.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Mizuho set a $116.00 price objective on Aflac in a research report on Monday. Wall Street Zen raised Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Aflac from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $117.58.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 600 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.10, for a total value of $74,460.00. Following the sale, the director owned 32,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,059,311. This trade represents a 1.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a 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. Also, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 27,845 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 645,273 shares of company stock worth $75,599,007. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Aflac News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Aflac this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised its price target to $125 from $120 while maintaining a “market perform” rating, indicating limited but improved upside potential. Benzinga analyst rating update
• Positive Sentiment: Accident and health insurers, including Aflac, could benefit from increased underwriting exposure and greater digitalization. However, rising medical costs and inflation may pressure pricing. Zacks accident and health insurers outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo kept a “hold” rating and a $120 price target, citing Aflac’s solid sector positioning but modest growth prospects and questions around mergers-and-acquisitions capital allocation. Wells Fargo Aflac rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 600 shares worth approximately $74,460 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale reduced his position by 1.8%, making it a limited insider-selling signal. Aflac insider transaction filing
• Negative Sentiment: JPMorgan lowered its price target to $116 from $117 and retained a “neutral” rating, implying downside from the referenced trading level. JPMorgan analyst rating update
• Negative Sentiment: Dowling & Partners cut its fiscal 2026 earnings-per-share estimate to $7.00 from $7.05, adding pressure after Aflac’s latest quarter slightly missed consensus EPS expectations and revenue declined year over year. Aflac earnings information

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $120.62 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $60.47 billion, a PE ratio of 12.93, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $103.80 and a 1-year high of $130.22. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $121.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $115.68.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.76 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $4.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.11 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 26.91% and a return on equity of 13.27%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.78 EPS. Research analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.