Aflac Incorporated $AFL Shares Bought by MUFG Securities EMEA plc

Key Points

• MUFG Securities EMEA plc more than doubled its Aflac stake in the fourth quarter, increasing holdings by 109.9% to 19,338 shares worth about $2.13 million.
• Aflac reported Q1 earnings of $1.75 per share, missing estimates, while revenue came in at $4.24 billion, slightly above expectations and up 27.9% year over year.
• The company paid a quarterly dividend of $0.61 per share, which annualizes to $2.44 and yields about 2.2%; analysts currently have a consensus rating of Hold with a $112.27 price target.

MUFG Securities EMEA plc boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 109.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 19,338 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 10,125 shares during the period. MUFG Securities EMEA plc's holdings in Aflac were worth $2,132,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Aflac by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 57,142,072 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,301,056,000 after acquiring an additional 6,759,169 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter worth about $420,078,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Aflac by 1,184.5% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,264,090 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $141,199,000 after acquiring an additional 1,165,676 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Aflac by 132.4% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,227,200 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $137,078,000 after acquiring an additional 699,080 shares during the period. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its position in shares of Aflac by 180.5% in the third quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 252,457 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $27,320,000 after acquiring an additional 565,884 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Aflac Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $112.30 on Tuesday. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $96.95 and a 12-month high of $119.81. The stock has a market cap of $57.16 billion, a PE ratio of 12.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a 50-day moving average of $113.18 and a 200 day moving average of $111.76.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analysts' expectations of $4.20 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.66 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were paid a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Aflac's dividend payout ratio is 27.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AFL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays set a $99.00 price objective on shares of Aflac and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Mizuho set a $104.00 price objective on shares of Aflac in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Evercore upgraded shares of Aflac from a "strong sell" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $112.27.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 9,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.22, for a total transaction of $1,030,302.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 51,293,045 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,807,398,554.90. This trade represents a 0.02% decrease in their position. The transaction 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. Also, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 1,740 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.57, for a total transaction of $202,831.80. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 13,219 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,540,938.83. The trade was a 11.63% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 919,536 shares of company stock valued at $104,156,673 in the last 90 days. 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.

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).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.