Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Raises Stock Position in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 6.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 90,404 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,541 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $9,969,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Navalign LLC acquired a new position in Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the second quarter worth $33,000. Activest Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 95.6% during the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 311 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 100.0% during the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 324 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the period. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 80.6% during the fourth quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC now owns 354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aflac Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:AFL opened at $112.30 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $113.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $111.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $96.95 and a 12-month high of $119.81. The firm has a market cap of $57.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.75, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.62.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 13.88% and a net margin of 25.60%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.66 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.08 EPS for the current 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 issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Aflac’s payout ratio is currently 27.70%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Steven Kent Beaver sold 5,508 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.81, for a total value of $648,897.48. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 40,537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,775,663.97. The trade was a 11.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 9,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.22, for a total value of $1,030,302.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 51,293,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,807,398,554.90. This represents a 0.02% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 919,536 shares of company stock worth $104,156,673 in the last three months. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective (up from $125.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Aflac from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Aflac from $116.00 to $111.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Aflac currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $112.27.

Aflac 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.