MUFG Securities EMEA plc Raises Position in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

MUFG Securities EMEA plc raised its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 109.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,338 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 10,125 shares during the period. MUFG Securities EMEA plc’s holdings in Aflac were worth $2,132,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Aflac by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 57,142,072 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,301,056,000 after buying an additional 6,759,169 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $420,078,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Aflac by 1,184.5% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,264,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $141,199,000 after buying an additional 1,165,676 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Aflac by 132.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,227,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $137,078,000 after buying an additional 699,080 shares during the period. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its position in Aflac by 180.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 252,457 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,320,000 after buying an additional 565,884 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other Aflac news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 166,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.38, for a total transaction of $18,655,080.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 51,723,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,812,641,978. This trade represents a 0.32% decrease in their position. The sale 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 919,536 shares of company stock worth $104,156,673. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AFL opened at $112.30 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $113.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $111.76. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $96.95 and a 12 month high of $119.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.62.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.05). Aflac had a return on equity of 13.88% and a net margin of 25.60%.The company had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.66 earnings per share. Aflac’s revenue was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were given a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 20th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on AFL shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Aflac from $116.00 to $111.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Aflac from $116.00 to $114.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Aflac from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective (up from $125.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $112.27.

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.