Prudential PLC Buys 68,156 Shares of Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Key Points

• Prudential PLC boosted its stake in Aflac by 39.2%, buying 68,156 shares to hold 241,933 shares valued at $27,024,000 as of its latest SEC filing.
• Aflac reported an EPS miss ($1.57 vs. $1.69 expected) and a 9.6% year‑over‑year revenue decline; analysts' consensus is a Hold with an average target of $111.73.
• Recent insider and major shareholder sales (including Post Holdings and a director) plus reports of a cybersecurity breach pose potential near‑term operational and sentiment headwinds for the stock.

Prudential PLC boosted its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 39.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 241,933 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 68,156 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC's holdings in Aflac were worth $27,024,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 188.5% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 225 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Aflac during the second quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Aflac during the third quarter worth about $45,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AFL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Mizuho set a $107.00 price objective on shares of Aflac in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $119.00 target price (up from $110.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b+)" rating on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Barclays set a $101.00 price target on Aflac and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Aflac from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Aflac presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $111.73.

Aflac Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of AFL stock opened at $108.73 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $56.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.80, a PEG ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a 50 day moving average of $111.63 and a 200-day moving average of $110.30. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.69 by ($0.12). Aflac had a net margin of 21.24% and a return on equity of 14.35%. The firm had revenue of $4.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.45 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.57 EPS. Aflac's revenue for the quarter was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

More Aflac News

Here are the key news stories impacting Aflac this week:

• Positive Sentiment: New distribution deal: Aflac announced a partnership with Empower Brokerage to distribute supplemental-insurance products, which should broaden channels for sales and support premium growth over time. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings/fundamentals context: Aflac’s Feb. 4 quarter showed an EPS miss and revenue decline year-over-year; consensus remains a “Hold” with an average target around $111. That keeps analysts cautious and caps upside absent clearer improvement in top-line trends.
• Neutral Sentiment: Human-interest coverage: Aflac ran a feature on a policyholder’s cancer journey (brand/PR positive but unlikely to move the stock materially). Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Director insider sale: Director Charles D. Lake II sold 15,590 shares (avg. ~$109.93) on Mar. 11. Insider sales can be read negatively by the market even if motivated by personal reasons; SEC Form 4 filed. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Major shareholder trimming: Post Holdings (Japan) has executed several small block sales (multiple ~17k–19k-share trades across Mar. 5–11). Sales are small relative to its >10% stake but add supply and suggest portfolio rebalancing rather than confidence-boosting buying. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Cybersecurity incident disclosed: Media reports say Aflac confirmed a cybersecurity breach; details remain limited. Potential data, remediation costs, regulatory follow-ups or client impact make this the most direct near‑term operational risk in the headlines. Read More.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In related news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 18,100 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.53, for a total value of $1,982,493.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 52,168,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,713,961,040. This trade represents a 0.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Steven Kent Beaver sold 7,387 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.58, for a total value of $839,015.46. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 40,526 shares in the company, valued at $4,602,943.08. This represents a 15.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 115,777 shares of company stock worth $12,787,908 over the last ninety days. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Aflac Company Profile

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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