Legal & General Group Plc Has $413.40 Million Stock Holdings in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc reduced its Aflac stake by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, but still held 3.75 million shares valued at about $413.4 million.
• Wall Street’s view on Aflac is mixed: the stock currently carries an average Hold rating, with a consensus price target of $111.82.
• Aflac posted quarterly EPS of $1.75, missing estimates, while revenue came in at $4.24 billion; the company also announced a $0.61 quarterly dividend payable June 1.

Legal & General Group Plc cut its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 4.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,748,966 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 177,811 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.72% of Aflac worth $413,398,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Aflac by 64.4% during the 4th 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 period. Bison Wealth LLC boosted its position in Aflac by 4.3% during the 4th 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 period. WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new stake in Aflac during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $280,000. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in Aflac by 11.2% during the 2nd 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 period. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC boosted its position in Aflac by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 11,953 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,261,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on AFL shares. Barclays set a $99.00 price target on shares of Aflac and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Evercore upgraded shares of Aflac from a "strong sell" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Aflac from $116.00 to $114.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Aflac from $116.00 to $111.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $111.82.

Aflac Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $117.78 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $59.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.62. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $96.95 and a 52-week high of $119.81. 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 company's 50 day moving average price is $112.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $111.74.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.20 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 25.60% and a return on equity of 13.88%. The business's revenue was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.66 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th will be paid a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Aflac's payout ratio is currently 27.70%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 2,300 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.55, for a total value of $268,065.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 6,186 shares in the company, valued at $720,978.30. The trade was a 27.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 1,740 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.57, for a total transaction of $202,831.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 13,219 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,540,938.83. This represents a 11.63% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 814,028 shares of company stock worth $91,815,931 in the last quarter. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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