Aflac Incorporated $AFL Shares Purchased by Conning Inc.

Key Points

• Conning Inc. increased its Aflac stake by 5% in the third quarter, purchasing 16,148 additional shares and bringing its holdings to 338,891 shares valued at approximately $37.9 million. Institutional investors collectively own 67.44% of Aflac.
• Aflac shares opened at $121.79, with a market capitalization of about $61.1 billion. The company recently reported $1.75 in quarterly EPS—slightly below expectations—while revenue of $4.22 billion exceeded estimates.
• Aflac maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.61 per share, equivalent to a 2.0% yield. Analysts have a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $117.20, while insiders sold more than $83 million in stock during the quarter.

Conning Inc. increased its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 5.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 338,891 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 16,148 shares during the quarter. Aflac makes up 1.2% of Conning Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest position. Conning Inc. owned 0.07% of Aflac worth $37,881,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,093,787,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Aflac by 27.8% in the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,201,217 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $609,843,000 after buying an additional 1,132,091 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,550,855 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $499,216,000 after acquiring an additional 67,650 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $404,639,000. Finally, Amundi lifted its position in Aflac by 22.6% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 3,268,209 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $358,555,000 after acquiring an additional 603,426 shares during the last quarter. 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 113,611 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.53, for a total value of $13,466,311.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 50,134,329 shares in the company, valued at $5,942,422,016.37. This trade represents a 0.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 713,662 shares of company stock valued at $83,323,978 over the last quarter. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Aflac Stock Down 0.2%

NYSE:AFL opened at $121.79 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $105.43 and a twelve month high of $130.22. The company has a market cap of $61.06 billion, a PE ratio of 13.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.56. The company's 50 day moving average is $116.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $115.67.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.76 by ($0.01). Aflac had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 26.91%. The company had revenue of $4.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.11 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.78 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.04 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th were paid a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 19th. Aflac's payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Aflac from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 20th. Mizuho reduced their price target on Aflac from $116.00 to $107.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. TD Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $110.00 price objective (up from $101.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Evercore raised their price objective on Aflac from $109.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $103.00 target price on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Aflac currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $117.20.

Aflac Company Profile

Aflac Incorporated NYSE: AFL is an insurance company specializing in supplemental health and life insurance. Through its policies, the company helps individuals and families manage expenses that may not be fully covered by major medical insurance, including deductibles, copayments and other out-of-pocket costs.

Aflac offers products such as accident, cancer, critical illness, hospital indemnity, dental and vision, disability, life and long-term care insurance. Many of its supplemental policies provide cash benefits directly to policyholders, who can generally use the funds according to their individual needs.

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.