BIP Wealth LLC Trims Holdings in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Key Points

• BIP Wealth LLC reduced its Aflac stake by 30.2% in the first quarter, selling 16,834 shares and ending with 38,889 shares valued at about $4.27 million.
• Aflac reported mixed quarterly results, with EPS of $1.75 missing estimates but revenue of $4.24 billion topping expectations; revenue was also up 27.9% from a year earlier.
• The company continues to return capital to shareholders through a quarterly dividend of $0.61 per share, equal to a 2.0% annualized yield, while analysts currently have a consensus rating of “Hold.”

BIP Wealth LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 30.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,889 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 16,834 shares during the quarter. BIP Wealth LLC's holdings in Aflac were worth $4,267,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AFL. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Aflac by 8.7% during the first quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 84,476 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $9,268,000 after acquiring an additional 6,768 shares during the period. DB Fitzpatrick & Co Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 3.4% in the first quarter. DB Fitzpatrick & Co Inc now owns 10,691 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,173,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its stake in Aflac by 30.3% in the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 26,268 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,882,000 after purchasing an additional 6,105 shares in the last quarter. Leonteq Securities AG grew its stake in Aflac by 54.1% in the first quarter. Leonteq Securities AG now owns 615 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund increased its holdings in Aflac by 87.6% during the 1st quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 172,024 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $18,873,000 after purchasing an additional 80,350 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aflac Stock Down 0.1%

AFL opened at $120.73 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $116.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $112.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.70, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.61. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $96.95 and a fifty-two week high of $120.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $4.24 billion for 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.66 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were given a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Aflac's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.70%.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In related news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 12,370 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.54, for a total value of $1,441,599.80. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 33,310 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,881,947.40. This trade represents a 27.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 27,845 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.71, for a total value of $3,249,789.95. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 50,898,490 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,940,362,767.90. The trade was a 0.05% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 1,042,771 shares of company stock valued at $120,575,104 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on AFL. Barclays set a $99.00 target price on Aflac and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Evercore upgraded shares of Aflac from a "strong sell" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $130.00 target price (up from $125.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. UBS Group lowered their target price 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 dropped their target price on Aflac from $116.00 to $111.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $112.27.

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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