Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Makes New $16.07 Million Investment in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Key Points

• Mirae Asset Global Investments purchased a new 143,749-share stake in Aflac during the third quarter, valued at approximately $16.07 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the stock.
• Analysts have a consensus “Hold” rating on Aflac, with an average price target of $117.20; ratings include four Buys, eight Holds, and four Sells.
• Aflac’s latest quarterly results slightly missed EPS estimates at $1.75, while revenue of $4.22 billion topped forecasts. The company’s quarterly dividend was $0.61 per share, equivalent to a 2.0% annualized yield.

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 143,749 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $16,068,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Groupe la Francaise purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Archer Investment Corp acquired a new position in Aflac during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Aflac during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Evergreen Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Aflac during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on AFL shares. Barclays restated an "underweight" rating and issued a $101.00 price target (up from $99.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Aflac from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $103.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $125.00 target price (up from $124.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upped their target price on shares of Aflac from $119.00 to $123.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $117.20.

Aflac Price Performance

AFL opened at $123.93 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $116.99 and a 200-day moving average of $115.97. The company has a market capitalization of $62.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.48, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.55. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $105.76 and a 1-year high of $130.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a current ratio of 0.12.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.76 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $4.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.11 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 26.91% and a return on equity of 13.27%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.78 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th were given a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Aflac's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.15%.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In other news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 113,611 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.53, for a total value of $13,466,311.83. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 50,134,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,942,422,016.37. The trade was a 0.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 713,662 shares of company stock valued at $83,323,978. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Aflac

Aflac Incorporated NYSE: AFL is an insurance company specializing in supplemental health and life insurance. Through its policies, the company helps individuals and families manage expenses that may not be fully covered by major medical insurance, including deductibles, copayments and other out-of-pocket costs.

Aflac offers products such as accident, cancer, critical illness, hospital indemnity, dental and vision, disability, life and long-term care insurance. Many of its supplemental policies provide cash benefits directly to policyholders, who can generally use the funds according to their individual needs.

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