Maj Invest Holding A S Sells 16,813 Shares of Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Key Points

• Maj Invest Holding A S trimmed its Aflac stake by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 16,813 shares and ending with 559,634 shares worth about $61.7 million.
• Institutional ownership remains heavy, with Vanguard and several other large investors increasing their positions; overall, institutions own 67.44% of Aflac shares.
• Aflac reported mixed quarterly results, missing EPS estimates but beating revenue expectations, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.61 per share payable June 1 for a 2.1% yield.

Maj Invest Holding A S lessened its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 559,634 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 16,813 shares during the quarter. Aflac accounts for approximately 2.9% of Maj Invest Holding A S's portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Maj Invest Holding A S owned about 0.11% of Aflac worth $61,711,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake 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 valued at $6,301,056,000 after buying an additional 6,759,169 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 1,184.5% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,264,090 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $141,199,000 after buying an additional 1,165,676 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 132.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,227,200 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $137,078,000 after buying an additional 699,080 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 180.5% during the third quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 252,457 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $27,320,000 after buying an additional 565,884 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 402.9% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 653,853 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $73,035,000 after buying an additional 523,845 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 51,723,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,812,641,978. This trade represents a 0.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 674,615 shares of company stock worth $75,311,551 in the last ninety days. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AFL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen raised Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Aflac from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Aflac from $116.00 to $114.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Aflac from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays set a $99.00 price objective on Aflac and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Aflac presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $111.36.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of AFL opened at $118.58 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. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $96.95 and a one year high of $119.32. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $111.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $111.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.35 billion, a PE ratio of 13.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.62.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 13.88% and a net margin of 25.60%.The company had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.66 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

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

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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