Aflac Incorporated $AFL Shares Bought by First Trust Advisors LP

Key Points

• First Trust Advisors LP significantly increased its stake in Aflac, boosting holdings by 161.9% in the first quarter to 3.18 million shares worth about $349.4 million.
• Wall Street analysts remain mixed on Aflac, with an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $115.50 despite several recent target-price adjustments.
• Aflac reported quarterly earnings of $1.75 per share, slightly below estimates, while revenue came in at $4.24 billion and the company continues to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.61 per share.

First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 161.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,184,801 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,968,738 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.63% of Aflac worth $349,405,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AFL. Stephens Inc. AR raised its position in Aflac by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 21,945 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,420,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,119 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $234,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 19,088 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,105,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 7,702 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $902,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Confluence Wealth Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Aflac by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 11,923 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,315,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and set a $108.00 price target (up from $100.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $130.00 price objective (up from $125.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Aflac from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Aflac from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Mizuho set a $112.00 price target on shares of Aflac in a report on Thursday, July 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $115.50.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $123.34 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $96.95 and a fifty-two week high of $125.93. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $118.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $113.92. The firm has a market cap of $62.78 billion, a PE ratio of 14.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.61.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.20 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 25.60% and a return on equity of 13.88%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.66 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were paid a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 20th. Aflac's dividend payout ratio is 27.70%.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In related news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 63,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.12, for a total value of $7,441,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 51,169,435 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,044,133,662.20. This trade represents a 0.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 744,916 shares of company stock worth $87,118,632 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Aflac Company 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.

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