Aflac Incorporated $AFL Shares Purchased by &PARTNERS

Key Points

• &PARTNERS increased its Aflac stake by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, adding 25,918 shares to reach 585,417 shares valued at about $64.6 million.
• Aflac reported mixed quarterly results, posting $1.75 EPS versus the $1.80 consensus estimate, while revenue came in slightly ahead at $4.24 billion and rose 27.9% year over year.
• The company continues to reward shareholders with a quarterly dividend of $0.61 per share, or $2.44 annualized, for a yield of 2.1%.

&PARTNERS boosted its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 585,417 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 25,918 shares during the quarter. &PARTNERS owned 0.11% of Aflac worth $64,558,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. Quarry LP bought a new position in Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Navalign LLC bought a new stake in Aflac during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Aflac during the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. Activest Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Aflac by 95.6% during the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 311 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Aflac by 80.6% during the 4th quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC now owns 354 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AFL opened at $117.38 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $59.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.61. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $96.95 and a 1 year high of $119.81. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $114.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $112.09.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 quarter last year, the firm earned $1.66 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were given a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 20th. Aflac's payout ratio is currently 27.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on AFL shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Aflac from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a research note on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Aflac from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $130.00 price target (up from $125.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Mizuho set a $104.00 price objective on Aflac in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $112.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 53,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.74, for a total transaction of $6,240,220.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 51,014,735 shares in the company, valued at $6,006,474,898.90. This represents a 0.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 1,009,956 shares of company stock valued at $115,897,719 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Aflac 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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