Natixis Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Position in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC reduced its Aflac stake by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 13,316 shares and ending with 234,543 shares valued at about $25.9 million.
• Aflac reported mixed quarterly results: EPS of $1.75 missed expectations, while revenue of $4.24 billion slightly topped estimates and rose 27.9% year over year.
• The company recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.61 per share (annualized yield about 2.1%), even as analysts maintained a cautious view with an average rating of “Hold” and a target price of $112.27.

Natixis Advisors LLC decreased its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 5.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 234,543 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 13,316 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC's holdings in Aflac were worth $25,863,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AFL. Navalign LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Aflac in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Activest Wealth Management boosted its position in Aflac by 95.6% in the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 311 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 100.0% during the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 324 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 80.6% during the fourth quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC now owns 354 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of AFL opened at $115.44 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $58.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.10, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.61. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $113.66 and a 200-day moving average of $111.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $96.95 and a 52 week high of $119.81.

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

Aflac Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 166,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.38, for a total value of $18,655,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 51,723,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,812,641,978. The trade was a 0.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 909,146 shares of company stock valued at $103,061,812. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings cut Aflac from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Evercore upgraded Aflac from a "strong sell" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. UBS Group cut their target price on Aflac from $116.00 to $114.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $112.27.

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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