New York State Common Retirement Fund Has $66.01 Million Stock Holdings in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 79.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 625,892 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 277,957 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Aflac were worth $66,007,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in Aflac by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 5,307,681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $590,161,000 after buying an additional 56,776 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Aflac in the second quarter valued at about $432,201,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 10.8% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,575,054 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $397,510,000 after acquiring an additional 349,787 shares in the last quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD raised its position in shares of Aflac by 19.4% during the second quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 2,372,484 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $250,187,000 after purchasing an additional 385,546 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in shares of Aflac by 0.8% during the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,730,739 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $192,441,000 after purchasing an additional 13,575 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on AFL shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Aflac in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Aflac from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $125.00 target price on shares of Aflac and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $111.00.

Aflac Stock Down 0.2%

AFL opened at $110.31 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $110.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $106.27. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $96.95 and a 1-year high of $115.83. The stock has a market cap of $57.82 billion, a PE ratio of 25.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter. Aflac had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 15.08%. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter. As a group, research analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th will be given a $0.61 dividend. This is a boost from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 18th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.85%.

Aflac announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, August 12th that authorizes the company to buyback 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Aflac news, EVP Frederic Jean Guy Simard sold 1,722 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total transaction of $193,725.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 1,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $153,450. The trade was a 55.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 15,862 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.00, for a total transaction of $1,776,544.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 230,688 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,837,056. The trade was a 6.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 22,822 shares of company stock valued at $2,571,002. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Aflac Profile

Aflac Incorporated, through its subsidiaries, provides supplemental health and life insurance products. The company operates through Aflac Japan and Aflac U.S. segments. The Aflac Japan segment offers cancer, medical, nursing care, work leave, GIFT, and whole and term life insurance products, as well as WAYS and child endowment plans under saving type insurance products in Japan.