Aflac Incorporated $AFL Stock Sold by AIA Group Ltd

Key Points

• AIA Group cut its Aflac stake by 73.9% in the third quarter, selling 14,075 shares and retaining 4,975 shares worth about $556,000.
• Aflac reported quarterly EPS of $2.43, above the $1.80 consensus estimate, while revenue fell 31% year over year to $4.30 billion. It declared a $0.61 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 1.9% yield at the reported share price.
• Analysts’ average rating was Hold, with an average price target of $117.20; shares opened at $126.17.

AIA Group Ltd lessened its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 73.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,975 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 14,075 shares during the quarter. AIA Group Ltd's holdings in Aflac were worth $556,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Compound Planning Inc. grew its position in shares of Aflac by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 13,743 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,508,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 7,013 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $784,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,045 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $564,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 7,650 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $897,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 17,063 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,987,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 113,611 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.53, for a total transaction of $13,466,311.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 50,134,329 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,942,422,016.37. The trade was a 0.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 713,662 shares of company stock worth $83,323,978 over the last three months. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of AFL opened at $126.17 on Friday. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $105.76 and a 52-week high of $131.19. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $117.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $116.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a current ratio of 0.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $63.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.55.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.63. Aflac had a return on equity of 12.75% and a net margin of 21.24%. The business had revenue of $4.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.49 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 31.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 18th will be given a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 18th. Aflac's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AFL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Aflac from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Aflac from $116.00 to $107.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Aflac from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $103.00 price target on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $110.00 price target (up from $101.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Aflac has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $117.20.

Key Aflac News

Here are the key news stories impacting Aflac this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Aflac reported third-quarter adjusted earnings of $2.43 per share, above the roughly $1.80 analyst estimate. Stronger U.S. profit growth and lower expenses helped drive the beat. Aflac Q3 earnings beat estimates on strong US profit growth
• Positive Sentiment: The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.61 per share, payable December 1, extending its dividend-growth streak to 44 years and reinforcing its appeal to income-focused investors. Aflac declares fourth-quarter dividend
• Neutral Sentiment: Aflac expects a 35%–38% pretax margin in Japan and is targeting reinsurance cessions covering 30% of FSA reserves. The plan may support profitability and capital management, but execution and its eventual financial impact remain to be seen. Aflac Japan margin and reinsurance targets
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the adjusted earnings beat, Aflac’s reported net profit fell, and revenue was down 31% year over year in the supplied results. Weaker Japan results, currency headwinds and portfolio-related losses weighed on the overall picture. Aflac Q3 profit falls

Aflac 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.

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