Conning Inc. Has $36.03 Million Stock Holdings in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Key Points

• Conning Inc. increased its Aflac stake by 6.0% in the first quarter, buying 18,658 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 328,376 shares valued at about $36.0 million.
• Aflac reported quarterly earnings of $1.75 per share, missing analyst expectations, while revenue came in at $4.24 billion and rose 27.9% year over year.
• The company recently paid a $0.61 quarterly dividend, translating to a 2.0% yield, and analysts currently have a consensus rating of Hold with an average price target of $114.08.

Conning Inc. grew its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 6.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 328,376 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 18,658 shares during the quarter. Aflac comprises approximately 1.2% of Conning Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Conning Inc. owned 0.06% of Aflac worth $36,026,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Stephens Inc. AR lifted its stake in Aflac by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 21,945 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,420,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,119 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $234,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co raised its position in shares of Aflac by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 19,088 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,105,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Aflac by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 7,702 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $902,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, Confluence Wealth Services Inc. boosted its stake in Aflac by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 11,923 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,315,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of AFL opened at $121.98 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $62.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.85, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.61. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $96.95 and a twelve month high of $122.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $116.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $113.28.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.66 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were paid a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 currently 27.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on AFL shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Aflac from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $124.00 price target (up from $114.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Aflac from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Aflac from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $108.00 target price (up from $100.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $114.08.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 27,845 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.71, for a total transaction of $3,249,789.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 50,898,490 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,940,362,767.90. This represents a 0.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 12,370 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.54, for a total value of $1,441,599.80. Following the transaction, the director owned 33,310 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,881,947.40. The trade was a 27.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 744,916 shares of company stock worth $87,118,632. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

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.

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