Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL – Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 5,829 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $683,000.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Groupe la Francaise acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. purchased a new position in Aflac in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $99.00 price target (up from $98.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Friday, August 7th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 price target (up from $101.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $138.00 price objective (up from $130.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, August 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $116.62.
Aflac Trading Down 0.4%
NYSE AFL opened at $116.02 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a current ratio of 0.12. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $104.66 and a one year high of $130.22. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $121.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $116.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.17 billion, a PE ratio of 12.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.60.
Aflac (NYSE:AFL – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.76 by ($0.01). Aflac had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 26.91%.The business had revenue of $4.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.78 EPS. Aflac’s revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.04 earnings per share for the current year.
Aflac Dividend Announcement
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is 26.15%.
Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac
In related news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 12,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.67, for a total value of $1,481,709.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 50,739,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,919,799,632.30. This trade represents a 0.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 509,215 shares of company stock worth $59,871,461. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
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.
Featured Articles
- Five stocks we like better than Aflac
- Securing AI: 5 Most-Upgraded Stocks From the Q2 Reporting Season
- Insiders Are Betting Big on These 3 Healthcare Stocks
- 3 Stocks for Investors Who Still Believe Cash Is King
- Dollar General and Dollar Tree Are Recovering, But Not for the Same Reason
Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AFL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL – Free Report).
Receive News & Ratings for Aflac Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Aflac and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
