Cibc World Market Inc. Invests $7.16 Million in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Cibc World Market Inc. acquired a new stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 61,050 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $7,158,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Stephens Inc. AR increased its holdings in Aflac by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 21,945 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,420,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Compound Planning Inc. lifted its stake in Aflac by 0.7% in the first quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 13,743 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,508,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 19,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,105,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HBK Sorce Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Aflac by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 7,702 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $902,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

NYSE AFL opened at $116.17 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $121.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $116.21. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $104.66 and a 12-month high of $130.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market cap of $58.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.45, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.60.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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). Aflac had a net margin of 26.91% and a return on equity of 13.27%. The business had revenue of $4.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.78 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other Aflac news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 12,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.28, for a total transaction of $1,500,012.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 50,791,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,906,069,341.20. The trade was a 0.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 600 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 32,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,059,311. This trade represents a 1.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 494,225 shares of company stock worth $57,960,715 in the last 90 days. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on AFL shares. Mizuho set a $116.00 price objective on shares of Aflac in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $138.00 price target (up from $130.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, August 10th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $108.00 price target (up from $100.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Aflac from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $117.00 to $116.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $116.62.

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.