83,619 Shares in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Purchased by ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V.

Key Points

• ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. acquired a new stake in Aflac, purchasing 83,619 shares valued at approximately $9.3 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Golden State Wealth Management and Garde Capital, have recently increased their holdings in Aflac, indicating strong institutional interest with 67.44% of the stock owned by such investors.
• Aflac's quarterly earnings report showed earnings per share of $1.78, surpassing estimates and reflecting a 19% revenue decline compared to the previous year.

ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. purchased a new stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 83,619 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $9,297,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AFL. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Aflac by 121.9% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 304 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the first quarter valued at about $36,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Aflac by 90.8% in the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 330 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Aflac during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Aflac during the 1st quarter valued at about $44,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In other Aflac news, Director Masatoshi Koide sold 37,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.59, for a total value of $3,906,830.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 70,992 shares in the company, valued at $7,496,045.28. The trade was a 34.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 2,750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.70, for a total value of $290,675.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 6,728 shares in the company, valued at $711,149.60. This represents a 29.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays set a $98.00 price target on Aflac and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Raymond James Financial lowered their price objective on Aflac from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Aflac from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Aflac from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Aflac has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $107.92.

Aflac Stock Up 3.3%

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $102.21 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 0.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The business's 50 day moving average is $102.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $104.94. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $96.95 and a 52-week high of $115.50. The firm has a market cap of $55.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.18, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.83.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.07. Aflac had a return on equity of 15.29% and a net margin of 15.32%. The firm had revenue of $4.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.83 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be paid a $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Aflac's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.61%.

Aflac 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.

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