Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Decreases Position in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management cut its Aflac position by 62% in the fourth quarter, selling 52,603 shares and leaving it with 32,260 shares worth about $3.56 million.
• Other institutional investors were active too, with firms like Vanguard, AQR Capital, and Franklin Resources increasing their stakes; overall, 67.44% of Aflac stock is held by hedge funds and other institutions.
• Aflac reported EPS of $1.75 versus estimates of $1.80 on quarterly revenue of $4.24 billion, and it also declared a $0.61 quarterly dividend payable June 1, implying a 2.1% yield.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. trimmed its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 62.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 32,260 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 52,603 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.'s holdings in Aflac were worth $3,557,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AFL. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 13.4% in 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 acquiring an additional 6,759,169 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 1,184.5% in 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 acquiring an additional 1,165,676 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 132.4% in 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 acquiring an additional 699,080 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 180.5% in 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 acquiring an additional 565,884 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 402.9% in 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 acquiring an additional 523,845 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AFL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays set a $99.00 price objective on Aflac and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Aflac from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. 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 report on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on 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 analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $111.82.

Aflac Stock Performance

NYSE AFL opened at $117.78 on Monday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $112.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $111.68. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $96.95 and a twelve month high of $119.81. The company has a market capitalization of $59.95 billion, a PE ratio of 13.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.62. 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 (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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). Aflac had a return on equity of 13.88% and a net margin of 25.60%.The business had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.66 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 166,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.38, for a total transaction of $18,655,080.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 51,723,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,812,641,978. This represents a 0.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 814,028 shares of company stock worth $91,815,931 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

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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