Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Sells 46,100 Shares of Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Key Points

• Fjarde AP Fonden cut its Aflac stake by 33.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 46,100 shares and leaving it with 91,674 shares valued at about $10.1 million.
• Aflac shares were up 2.7% to $118.37, near their 52-week high of $119.81, while the company’s market cap stood at about $60.25 billion.
• The insurer’s latest quarter showed EPS of $1.75, missing estimates, though revenue came in slightly ahead of expectations; Aflac also paid a $0.61 quarterly dividend for a 2.1% yield.

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund lowered its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 33.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 91,674 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 46,100 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund's holdings in Aflac were worth $10,109,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Aflac by 64.4% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,570 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,507,000 after buying an additional 5,708 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Aflac by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,402 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $455,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new position in Aflac during the second quarter worth about $280,000. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in Aflac by 11.2% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 150,334 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $15,854,000 after buying an additional 15,105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC raised its position in shares of Aflac by 1.6% during the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 11,953 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,261,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Aflac Trading Up 2.7%

NYSE AFL opened at $118.37 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $60.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.61. 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's 50-day moving average is $113.89 and its 200-day moving average is $111.80. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $96.95 and a one year high of $119.81.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.66 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were issued a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Aflac's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 16,300 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.19, for a total value of $1,877,597.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 51,248,735 shares in the company, valued at $5,903,341,784.65. This trade represents a 0.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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, EVP Steven Kent Beaver sold 5,508 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.81, for a total transaction of $648,897.48. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 40,537 shares in the company, valued at $4,775,663.97. This trade represents a 11.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 925,446 shares of company stock worth $104,939,409 over the last quarter. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on AFL. Morgan Stanley raised 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. UBS Group dropped their price target on Aflac from $116.00 to $114.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Barclays set a $99.00 price target on Aflac and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $130.00 price target (up from $125.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Evercore raised Aflac from a "strong sell" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $112.27.

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.

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