Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich Lowers Stock Holdings in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Key Points

• Bank Julius Baer cut its Aflac stake by 85.6% in the fourth quarter, selling 520,118 shares and leaving it with 87,845 shares worth about $9.7 million.
• Analysts are still largely cautious on Aflac: the stock’s consensus rating is Hold, with an average price target of $111.36 after several firms adjusted their views and targets.
• Aflac reported mixed quarterly results, beating revenue expectations but missing EPS estimates, while also continuing to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.61 per share.

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich cut its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 85.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 87,845 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 520,118 shares during the quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich's holdings in Aflac were worth $9,687,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. BIP Wealth LLC lifted its position in Aflac by 348.3% during the 4th quarter. BIP Wealth LLC now owns 55,723 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,145,000 after acquiring an additional 43,293 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 163,791 shares in the last quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 126.1% during 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 period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 5.5% during 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 period. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 12.0% during the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 97,344 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $10,841,000 after purchasing an additional 10,423 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AFL. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Aflac from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Barclays set a $99.00 target price on Aflac and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Aflac from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $111.36.

Insider Activity

In other Aflac news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 600 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.73, for a total value of $68,238.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 25,368 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,885,102.64. The trade was a 2.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 24,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.97, for a total transaction of $2,818,071.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 51,588,545 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,982,723,563.65. The trade was a 0.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 621,875 shares of company stock worth $69,196,652. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Aflac

Here are the key news stories impacting Aflac this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Aflac issued $500 million of 5.150% senior notes due 2036, a move that can support liquidity and provide flexibility for capital management. Aflac Issues $500 Million 2036 Senior Notes Offering
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary remains constructive overall, highlighting strong sales growth in Japan and the U.S., improving Japan margins, and a lower benefit ratio, which supports the case for continued earnings resilience. Here's Why You Should Keep Holding Aflac in Your Portfolio
• Neutral Sentiment: The company’s recent earnings were mixed: revenue beat expectations, but EPS missed estimates, leaving investors focused on whether growth can offset margin pressure and valuation concerns.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles questioned Aflac’s valuation and risk profile after softer Japan margins and the earnings miss, but these pieces did not indicate a new fundamental setback beyond what was already known.
• Negative Sentiment: Major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan disclosed another small sale of Aflac shares under a pre-arranged trading plan, adding to recent insider selling that can weigh on sentiment. Aflac NYSE: AFL Major Shareholder Sells $2,767,885.00 in Stock

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of AFL stock opened at $116.26 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $111.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $111.22. The firm has a market cap of $59.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.62. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $96.95 and a 1-year high of $119.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 25.60% and a return on equity of 13.88%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.66 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th will be given a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Aflac's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.70%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AFL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report).

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.