Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL – Free Report) by 5.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 94,764 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,229 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $11,111,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AFL. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the first quarter worth $25,000. Groupe la Francaise purchased a new stake in Aflac during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Archer Investment Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in Aflac during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.
Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac
In other news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 12,700 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.00, for a total transaction of $1,473,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 50,713,990 shares in the company, valued at $5,882,822,840. The trade was a 0.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 518,615 shares of company stock worth $60,981,824. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Key Headlines Impacting Aflac
- Neutral Sentiment: Aflac announced that CFO Max K. will present at the 2026 KBW Insurance Conference. The event could provide investors with updates on operating trends, capital allocation and the insurance market, but the announcement included no new guidance or financial details. Aflac Incorporated to Present at the 2026 KBW Insurance Conference
- Neutral Sentiment: The company’s quarterly dividend of $0.61 per share was paid on September 1, supporting Aflac’s income-investment appeal. However, the payment and ex-dividend date were previously announced and are unlikely to be a major new trading catalyst.
- Negative Sentiment: Japan Post Holdings, Aflac’s major shareholder, disclosed several small stock sales, including 12,700 shares on August 31 for about $1.47 million and 13,000 shares on August 28 for about $1.51 million. The shareholder has been steadily reducing its position through multiple transactions, which may create a modest overhang, although each sale reduced ownership by only about 0.03% and was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. Aflac Major Shareholder Sells Stock
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Aflac from $117.00 to $116.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 target price (up from $101.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $108.00 price objective (up from $100.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $116.62.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Aflac
Aflac Trading Up 1.1%
Aflac stock opened at $117.30 on Thursday. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $104.66 and a 52 week high of $130.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a current ratio of 0.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $121.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $116.24.
Aflac (NYSE:AFL – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $4.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.11 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 26.91% and a return on equity of 13.27%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.78 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.04 EPS for the current year.
Aflac Announces Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th were paid a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is 26.15%.
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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