Prudential PLC Increases Stock Holdings in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Prudential PLC increased its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 34.9% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 173,777 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 44,947 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $18,327,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd increased its holdings in Aflac by 168.5% during the 2nd quarter. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd now owns 11,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,223,000 after acquiring an additional 7,280 shares in the last quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. grew its position in shares of Aflac by 3.6% in the second quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 7,947 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $838,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. PKS Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter. PKS Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,593 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $484,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC raised its position in shares of Aflac by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 19,384 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,044,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dorsey Wright & Associates lifted its stake in Aflac by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dorsey Wright & Associates now owns 42,686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,502,000 after buying an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on AFL. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Aflac from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Piper Sandler set a $125.00 target price on shares of Aflac and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Aflac from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and set a $104.00 target price (up previously from $102.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Aflac presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $111.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 3,452 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.10, for a total transaction of $397,325.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 230,688 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,552,188.80. The trade was a 1.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Frederic Jean Guy Simard sold 1,722 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 6th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $153,450. The trade was a 55.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 6,960 shares of company stock valued at $794,458 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Price Performance

Aflac stock opened at $109.33 on Thursday. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $96.95 and a 1 year high of $115.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $109.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $106.04. The company has a market cap of $57.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.79, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.83.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter. Aflac had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 15.08%. Sell-side analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th will be issued a $0.61 dividend. This is a positive change from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.29%.

Aflac declared that its board has approved a stock 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 purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Aflac Company 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.