Strs Ohio Buys 17,395 Shares of Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Strs Ohio boosted its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 15.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 132,226 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,395 shares during the period. Strs Ohio’s holdings in Aflac were worth $14,581,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 188.5% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 225 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Activest Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 95.6% during the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 311 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 324 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth $45,000. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Aflac

Here are the key news stories impacting Aflac this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Revenue and U.S. sales strength helped cushion the quarter; several outlets highlight rising revenue and solid U.S. growth that partially offset headwinds. Aflac 1Q Profit Rises
• Positive Sentiment: Management is targeting higher Japan sales (near JPY 80B) and expanding its reinsurance franchise in Japan — a strategic growth vector that investors view as constructive for longer?term earnings. Japan Growth Plans
• Neutral Sentiment: Piper Sandler trimmed its price target from $130 to $125 but kept an Overweight rating — a modest downgrade to upside expectations while remaining bullish on the stock. Piper Sandler Price Target
• Neutral Sentiment: Corporate expansion: Aflac opened a South Portland, Maine office to support the state’s Paid Family & Medical Leave program — positive for local positioning but unlikely to move the stock materially in the near term. Maine Office Opening
• Negative Sentiment: Q1 EPS missed consensus as investment income came in below expectations and FX translation (weaker yen) reduced reported earnings — a primary driver of investor caution. Q1 Earnings Miss
• Negative Sentiment: Premium pressure in Japan and FX translation effects offset some Japanese sales gains, contributing to the earnings shortfall and near?term margin concerns. Japan Premium Pressure

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other Aflac news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 86,155 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.24, for a total value of $9,756,192.20. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 51,636,945 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,847,367,651.80. The trade was a 0.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 572,632 shares of company stock valued at $63,514,634. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $112.92 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11. The company has a market cap of $58.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.62. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $111.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $110.84. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $96.95 and a 52-week high of $119.32.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced 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 company had revenue of $4.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.20 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 25.60% and a return on equity of 13.88%. The business’s revenue was up 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.66 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th will be issued a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 20th. Aflac’s payout ratio is currently 27.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays set a $99.00 price target on shares of Aflac and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Aflac from $116.00 to $114.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Evercore upgraded shares of Aflac from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Aflac from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Aflac has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $111.64.

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.