Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Increases Position in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors increased its Aflac stake by 1.5% in Q1, adding 67,650 shares to bring its total to 4.55 million shares valued at about $499.2 million.
• Insider selling was notable, with major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan selling 63,000 shares in June; over the last three months, insiders sold 744,916 shares worth $87.1 million.
• Aflac’s latest results and outlook showed mixed signals: quarterly EPS of $1.75 missed estimates, but revenue rose 27.9% year over year, while the stock traded near its 52-week high at $123.98 and analysts maintained a consensus Hold rating with a $114.50 target.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 1.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,550,855 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 67,650 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 0.88% of Aflac worth $499,216,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Aflac by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 57,142,072 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,301,056,000 after purchasing an additional 6,759,169 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $420,078,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Aflac by 1,184.5% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,264,090 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $141,199,000 after purchasing an additional 1,165,676 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in Aflac by 390.7% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,111,711 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $122,588,000 after purchasing an additional 885,141 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Aflac by 132.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,227,200 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $137,078,000 after purchasing an additional 699,080 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In other news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 63,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.12, for a total value of $7,441,560.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 51,169,435 shares in the company, valued at $6,044,133,662.20. The trade was a 0.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 744,916 shares of company stock valued at $87,118,632. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Aflac Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of AFL opened at $123.98 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $63.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.61. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $96.95 and a 1 year high of $125.93. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $118.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $113.83.

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 for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.05). Aflac had a net margin of 25.60% and a return on equity of 13.88%. The business had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.20 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.66 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AFL. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Aflac from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Evercore upgraded shares of Aflac from a "strong sell" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $108.00 target price (up from $100.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $124.00 price target (up from $114.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. One 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $114.50.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AFL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.