Welch & Forbes LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL – Free Report) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 321,248 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,387 shares during the quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Aflac worth $35,424,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. Navalign LLC bought a new position in Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Aflac during the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Activest Wealth Management raised its position in Aflac by 95.6% during the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 311 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Aflac by 100.0% during the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 324 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC raised its position in Aflac by 80.6% during the fourth quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC now owns 354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.
Insider Activity at Aflac
In related news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 166,000 shares of the business’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 owned 51,723,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,812,641,978. The trade was a 0.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 910,436 shares of company stock valued at $103,126,371 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.
Key Headlines Impacting Aflac
- Positive Sentiment: Aflac issued yen-denominated senior notes, which should improve financial flexibility and support capital management. Aflac Issues Yen-Denominated Senior Notes for Flexibility
- Positive Sentiment: Recent analyst estimates remain slightly above current consensus, with DOWLING & PARTN projecting modest earnings growth into FY2027 and FY2028, suggesting longer-term earnings momentum. Aflac analyst estimates
- Neutral Sentiment: Several insider sales by Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan were disclosed, but they were pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 transactions and represent only small reductions in ownership. Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan Sells 31,100 Shares of Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Stock
- Neutral Sentiment: EVP Steven Kent Beaver also sold shares in a disclosed transaction, which may weigh on sentiment but does not appear to signal a fundamental change. Steven Kent Beaver Sells 5,508 Shares of Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Stock
- Negative Sentiment: Aflac’s last quarterly report missed EPS expectations, and some analysts have trimmed or only maintained cautious ratings, limiting upside enthusiasm. Aflac earnings and analyst coverage
Analyst Ratings Changes
AFL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Mizuho set a $104.00 price objective on shares of Aflac in a research report on Monday, May 4th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Aflac from $116.00 to $114.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Evercore raised shares of Aflac from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Aflac from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. One research 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 issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $112.27.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on AFL
Aflac Trading Down 0.2%
NYSE:AFL opened at $112.37 on Friday. 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 $57.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company’s 50 day moving average is $113.08 and its 200-day moving average is $111.78.
Aflac (NYSE:AFL – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.05). Aflac had a net margin of 25.60% and a return on equity of 13.88%. The firm had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.66 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.08 EPS for the current year.
Aflac Dividend Announcement
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th will be given a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.70%.
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.
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