Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Shares Purchased by Raiffeisen Bank International AG

Key Points

• Raiffeisen Bank International AG has increased its stake in Aflac Incorporated by 70.1%, owning 12,936 shares valued at $1.42 million following a purchase of an additional 5,333 shares during Q1.
• Other institutional investors like Northern Trust Corp and UBS AM also raised their stakes, with Northern Trust Corp increasing by 22.9% and UBS AM by 11.9% in Q4.
• Aflac's stock has shown volatility, with a 52-week high of $115.50 and a recent market cap of $53.31 billion.

Raiffeisen Bank International AG increased its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 70.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,936 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 5,333 shares during the quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG's holdings in Aflac were worth $1,420,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AFL. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of Aflac by 64.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,570 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,507,000 after buying an additional 5,708 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors grew its holdings in Aflac by 28.4% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 6,817 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $705,000 after acquiring an additional 1,507 shares in the last quarter. Aviva PLC increased its position in Aflac by 22.5% during the 4th quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 321,523 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $33,258,000 after purchasing an additional 59,080 shares during the period. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC raised its holdings in shares of Aflac by 629.3% in the 4th quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 61,680 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,380,000 after purchasing an additional 53,223 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Titleist Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Titleist Asset Management LLC now owns 3,324 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $344,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of AFL stock traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $102.24. The stock had a trading volume of 3,594,871 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,323,618. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $96.95 and a 1-year high of $115.50. The firm has a market cap of $55.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.18, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The business's fifty day moving average is $102.42 and its 200-day moving average is $104.94.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $4.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.30 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 15.08%. Aflac's quarterly revenue was down 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.83 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be given a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 20th. Aflac's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Aflac from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Aflac from $114.00 to $111.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Aflac from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Barclays set a $98.00 price objective on Aflac and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $107.92.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other news, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 2,750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.70, for a total transaction of $290,675.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 6,728 shares of the company's stock, valued at $711,149.60. This represents a 29.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Masatoshi Koide sold 37,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.59, for a total value of $3,906,830.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 70,992 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,496,045.28. This represents a 34.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Aflac Profile

Aflac Incorporated, through its subsidiaries, provides supplemental health and life insurance products. The company operates through Aflac Japan and Aflac U.S. segments. The Aflac Japan segment offers cancer, medical, nursing care, work leave, GIFT, and whole and term life insurance products, as well as WAYS and child endowment plans under saving type insurance products in Japan.