Aflac Incorporated $AFL Stock: Maj Invest Holding A S Trims Stake

Key Points

• Maj Invest Holding A S reduced its Aflac stake by 4% in the third quarter, selling 20,739 shares and retaining 492,620 shares valued at approximately $55.1 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 67.44% of Aflac.
• Aflac reported quarterly earnings of $1.75 per share, slightly below the $1.76 consensus estimate, while revenue of $4.22 billion exceeded expectations. Revenue declined 1% year over year, though the company maintained a 26.91% net margin.
• Aflac pays a quarterly dividend of $0.61 per share, equivalent to an annualized $2.44 dividend and a 2% yield. Analysts hold a consensus rating of “Hold”, with an average price target of $117.20.

Maj Invest Holding A S trimmed its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 4.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 492,620 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 20,739 shares during the quarter. Aflac makes up 2.4% of Maj Invest Holding A S's portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Maj Invest Holding A S's holdings in Aflac were worth $55,063,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Conning Inc. raised its stake in Aflac by 5.0% during the third quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 338,891 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $37,881,000 after buying an additional 16,148 shares in the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR grew its position in shares of Aflac by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR now owns 34,422 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,848,000 after acquiring an additional 663 shares in the last quarter. Lynch Investment Planning LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $172,000. Latitude Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $91,000. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. grew its position in shares of Aflac by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 3,064 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $342,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $121.79 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $116.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $115.67. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $105.43 and a 52-week high of $130.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.56.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.76 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $4.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.11 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 26.91% and a return on equity of 13.27%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.78 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Aflac news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 113,611 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider directly owned 50,134,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,942,422,016.37. This trade represents a 0.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 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 owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AFL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wolfe Research began coverage on Aflac in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $103.00 price target for the company. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Aflac from $116.00 to $107.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $138.00 price objective (up from $130.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, August 10th. Raymond James Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $119.00 to $123.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Finally, Evercore boosted their target price on shares of Aflac from $109.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Four 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, Aflac presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $117.20.

About Aflac

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.

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