Commerce Bank bought a new stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 134,055 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $15,718,000.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new stake in Aflac during the 2nd quarter worth about $11,111,000. Evolve Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Aflac during the second quarter valued at about $207,000. Farringdon Capital Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the second quarter worth about $463,000. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the second quarter worth about $14,257,000. Finally, Westpac Banking Corp purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the second quarter worth approximately $6,120,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company's stock.
More Aflac News
Here are the key news stories impacting Aflac this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Aflac’s quarterly dividend is $0.61 per share, or $2.44 annualized, providing a yield of roughly 2.1%. The company has a long record of dividend growth and a relatively low payout ratio of about 26%, supporting its appeal as a defensive income stock.
- Neutral Sentiment: Recent earnings were mixed: quarterly revenue of $4.22 billion exceeded analyst expectations of $4.11 billion, but earnings per share of $1.75 narrowly missed the $1.76 consensus. Revenue declined 1% year over year and EPS fell from $1.78 in the prior-year quarter, limiting fundamental momentum.
- Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street’s overall view remains cautious, with a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target near $116.62. Some analysts remain constructive, including Piper Sandler with a $138 target, while others maintain neutral or underweight ratings.
- Negative Sentiment: Wolfe Research initiated coverage with an “underperform” rating and a $103 price target, implying meaningful downside from recent trading levels. The call adds to existing concerns from Barclays and JPMorgan, which also have cautious ratings or targets. Wolfe Research Starts Aflac at Underperform
- Negative Sentiment: Japan Post Holdings, Aflac’s major shareholder, sold another 12,700 shares on August 19 for approximately $1.49 million, following sales of 14,200 shares on August 18 and 13,900 shares on August 17. The transactions were conducted under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan and represent only a small reduction in its stake, but the repeated selling may weigh on investor sentiment. Aflac SEC Insider Filing
Aflac Price Performance
Shares of AFL opened at $116.12 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $58.22 billion, a PE ratio of 12.45, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.60. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $121.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $116.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a current ratio of 0.12. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $104.66 and a twelve month high of $130.22.
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). Aflac had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 26.91%.The business had revenue of $4.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.11 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.78 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Aflac Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be paid a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 19th. Aflac's payout ratio is presently 26.15%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other Aflac news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.10, for a total transaction of $74,460.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 32,710 shares in the company, valued at $4,059,311. This trade represents a 1.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 12,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.05, for a total value of $1,486,535.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 50,817,790 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,948,222,319.50. This represents a 0.02% 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. Insiders sold 497,625 shares of company stock valued at $58,356,483 over the last quarter. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AFL shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Aflac from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 15th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Aflac in a research report on Wednesday. They set an "underperform" rating and a $103.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $124.00 target price (up from $114.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $108.00 target price (up from $100.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Friday, July 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $116.62.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Aflac
Aflac Profile
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Free Report)
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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