Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 31,314 Shares of Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 5.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 519,791 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 31,314 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.10% of Aflac worth $57,317,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake 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 worth $6,301,056,000 after purchasing an additional 6,759,169 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake 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 worth $141,199,000 after purchasing an additional 1,165,676 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake 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 worth $137,078,000 after purchasing an additional 699,080 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its stake 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 worth $27,320,000 after purchasing an additional 565,884 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP raised its stake 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 worth $73,035,000 after purchasing an additional 523,845 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 86,155 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.24, for a total transaction of $9,756,192.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 51,636,945 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,847,367,651.80. This trade represents a 0.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Miwako Hosoda sold 243 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.50, for a total value of $27,823.50. Following the sale, the director directly owned 7,743 shares of the company's stock, valued at $886,573.50. The trade was a 3.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 572,875 shares of company stock valued at $63,542,458 over the last ninety days. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AFL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded Aflac from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen raised Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Aflac from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Mizuho set a $104.00 price objective on Aflac in a research note on Monday. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Aflac from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $111.36.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of AFL opened at $112.98 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a market capitalization of $57.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.82, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.62. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $111.42 and a 200 day moving average of $110.96. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $96.95 and a 12 month high of $119.32.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 period in the previous year, the business posted $1.66 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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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