Aflac Incorporated $AFL Shares Sold by National Pension Service

Key Points

• National Pension Service cut its Aflac stake by 44.8% in the fourth quarter, selling 690,125 shares and leaving it with 850,099 shares worth about $93.7 million.
• Several other institutional investors increased their holdings, and overall institutions and hedge funds now own 67.44% of Aflac’s stock.
• Aflac’s latest quarter missed EPS estimates but beat on revenue, while analysts remain cautious overall with a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $112.27.

National Pension Service lowered its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 44.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 850,099 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 690,125 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.16% of Aflac worth $93,740,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. DNB Asset Management AS increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 51.3% in the fourth quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 168,003 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $18,526,000 after purchasing an additional 56,975 shares during the last quarter. BIP Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 348.3% in the fourth quarter. BIP Wealth LLC now owns 55,723 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,145,000 after purchasing an additional 43,293 shares during the last quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 126.1% in the third quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 21,345 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,384,000 after purchasing an additional 11,903 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 10.4% in the third quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,731,482 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $193,407,000 after purchasing an additional 163,791 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,866,471 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $206,712,000 after purchasing an additional 97,766 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AFL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Mizuho set a $104.00 price target on Aflac in a report on Monday, May 4th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $130.00 price target (up from $125.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen raised Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. UBS Group cut their price target on Aflac from $116.00 to $114.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Aflac from $116.00 to $111.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $112.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 166,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.38, for a total value of $18,655,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 51,723,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,812,641,978. This represents a 0.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 910,436 shares of company stock valued at $103,126,371 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Aflac Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of Aflac stock opened at $112.37 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.76, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.62. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $96.95 and a fifty-two week high of $119.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $113.08 and a 200 day moving average of $111.78.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). The business had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.20 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 13.88% and a net margin of 25.60%.The company's revenue was up 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.66 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 20th will be given a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 20th. Aflac's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.70%.

Key Aflac News

Here are the key news stories impacting Aflac this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Aflac issued yen-denominated senior notes, which should improve financial flexibility and support capital management. Aflac Issues Yen-Denominated Senior Notes for Flexibility
• Positive Sentiment: Recent analyst estimates remain slightly above current consensus, with DOWLING & PARTN projecting modest earnings growth into FY2027 and FY2028, suggesting longer-term earnings momentum. Aflac analyst estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: Several insider sales by Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan were disclosed, but they were pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 transactions and represent only small reductions in ownership. Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan Sells 31,100 Shares of Aflac NYSE: AFL Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: EVP Steven Kent Beaver also sold shares in a disclosed transaction, which may weigh on sentiment but does not appear to signal a fundamental change. Steven Kent Beaver Sells 5,508 Shares of Aflac NYSE: AFL Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Aflac’s last quarterly report missed EPS expectations, and some analysts have trimmed or only maintained cautious ratings, limiting upside enthusiasm. Aflac earnings and analyst coverage

About Aflac

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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