Corient Private Wealth LLC Grows Position in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Key Points

• Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its Aflac stake by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 543,892 shares worth about $60.0 million. Institutional ownership remains high, with investors holding 67.44% of the stock.
• Aflac reported mixed quarterly results: EPS of $1.75 missed estimates by $0.05, while revenue of $4.24 billion slightly beat forecasts. Revenue rose 27.9% year over year, and analysts now expect full-year EPS of 7.08.
• The company paid a quarterly dividend of $0.61 per share, or $2.44 annually, for a yield of about 2.1%. Meanwhile, analysts mostly rate the stock a Hold, with a consensus price target of $112.27, below its recent trading price near $115.50.

Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 543,892 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 17,532 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC owned about 0.11% of Aflac worth $60,032,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Union Savings Bank purchased a new position in Aflac in the 4th quarter worth about $187,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in Aflac by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,061,308 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $117,186,000 after purchasing an additional 58,018 shares in the last quarter. Bayban bought a new position in Aflac in the fourth quarter worth approximately $49,000. Pure Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Aflac by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 10,790 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,190,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the period. Finally, SHP Wealth Management purchased a new position in Aflac during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 166,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.38, for a total value of $18,655,080.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 51,723,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,812,641,978. This trade represents a 0.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,041,856 shares of company stock valued at $119,920,378. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Aflac Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of Aflac stock opened at $115.50 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $58.79 billion, a PE ratio of 13.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.61. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $115.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $112.19. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $96.95 and a 1 year high of $119.81. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.20 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 25.60% and a return on equity of 13.88%. Aflac's revenue for the quarter was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.66 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 20th were given a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 20th. Aflac's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Aflac from $116.00 to $114.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Aflac from $116.00 to $111.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Barclays set a $99.00 price objective on Aflac and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $112.27.

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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