Forsta AP Fonden Raises Position in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Key Points

• Forsta AP Fonden more than doubled its stake in Aflac in the fourth quarter, increasing holdings by 104.1% to 221,500 shares valued at about $24.4 million.
• Aflac reported quarterly EPS of $1.75, missing analyst estimates of $1.80, though revenue came in slightly above expectations at $4.24 billion and rose 27.9% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.61 per share, or $2.44 annualized, for a yield of about 2.2%, while analysts currently have a consensus rating of Hold with a $112.27 price target.

Forsta AP Fonden lifted its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 104.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 221,500 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 113,000 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden's holdings in Aflac were worth $24,425,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Stephens Inc. AR increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 21,945 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,420,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 19,088 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,105,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 7,702 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $902,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sigma Planning Corp increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 9,831 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,088,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Aflac news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 166,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.38, for a total transaction of $18,655,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 51,723,100 shares in the company, valued at $5,812,641,978. The trade was a 0.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 910,436 shares of company stock valued at $103,126,371. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Aflac Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:AFL opened at $112.37 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $113.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $111.78. 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 Incorporated has a one year low of $96.95 and a one year high of $119.81. The company has a market cap of $57.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.76, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.62.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last announced 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). 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 the consensus estimate of $4.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.66 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th will be issued a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 20th. Aflac's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Aflac from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Aflac from $116.00 to $114.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Mizuho set a $104.00 price objective on shares of Aflac in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $130.00 price objective (up from $125.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Tuesday. 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 given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $112.27.

More Aflac News

Here are the key news stories impacting Aflac this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Aflac issued yen-denominated senior notes, which should improve financial flexibility and support capital management. Aflac Issues Yen-Denominated Senior Notes for Flexibility
• Positive Sentiment: Recent analyst estimates remain slightly above current consensus, with DOWLING & PARTN projecting modest earnings growth into FY2027 and FY2028, suggesting longer-term earnings momentum. Aflac analyst estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: Several insider sales by Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan were disclosed, but they were pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 transactions and represent only small reductions in ownership. Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan Sells 31,100 Shares of Aflac NYSE: AFL Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: EVP Steven Kent Beaver also sold shares in a disclosed transaction, which may weigh on sentiment but does not appear to signal a fundamental change. Steven Kent Beaver Sells 5,508 Shares of Aflac NYSE: AFL Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Aflac’s last quarterly report missed EPS expectations, and some analysts have trimmed or only maintained cautious ratings, limiting upside enthusiasm. Aflac earnings and analyst coverage

About Aflac

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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