BIP Wealth LLC Acquires Shares of 51,542 Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Key Points

• BIP Wealth LLC acquired 51,542 Aflac shares worth approximately $6.04 million during the second quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 67.44% of Aflac’s outstanding stock.
• Aflac reported quarterly EPS of $1.75, slightly below the $1.76 consensus estimate, while revenue of $4.22 billion exceeded expectations. Analysts expect full-year EPS of approximately $7.04.
• Aflac declared a quarterly dividend of $0.61 per share, equivalent to $2.44 annually and a 2.0% yield. Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $117.58.

BIP Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 51,542 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $6,043,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 57,142,072 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,301,056,000 after buying an additional 6,759,169 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Aflac by 1.5% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,550,855 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $499,216,000 after acquiring an additional 67,650 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Aflac during the fourth quarter worth about $420,078,000. Amundi raised its position in Aflac by 22.6% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 3,268,209 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $358,555,000 after acquiring an additional 603,426 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in Aflac by 161.9% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,184,801 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $349,405,000 after acquiring an additional 1,968,738 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AFL opened at $121.38 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.12 and a quick ratio of 0.11. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $104.66 and a 1 year high of $130.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.85 billion, a PE ratio of 13.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.60. The business's 50 day moving average price is $121.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $115.82.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $4.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 in the prior year, the company posted $1.78 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AFL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $138.00 target price (up from $130.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Aflac from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $124.00 price target (up from $114.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Aflac from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $110.00 price objective (up from $101.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $117.58.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Aflac news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 63,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.12, for a total transaction of $7,441,560.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 51,169,435 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,044,133,662.20. The trade was a 0.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 620,033 shares of company stock worth $72,650,201 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Aflac Company 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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