Rakuten Investment Management Inc. Acquires 80,860 Shares of Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Key Points

• Rakuten Investment Management acquired a new 80,860-share stake in Aflac during the third quarter, valued at approximately $9.2 million.
• Aflac reported quarterly EPS of $2.43, above the $1.80 consensus estimate, while revenue fell 31% year over year to $4.30 billion.
• Aflac declared a quarterly dividend of $0.61 per share, equivalent to $2.44 annually and a 1.9% yield; analysts’ consensus rating was Hold, with an average price target of $117.20.

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 80,860 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $9,191,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Aflac by 1,058.8% during the 3rd quarter. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 394 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 360 shares during the period. Associated Banc Corp acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the third quarter valued at approximately $869,000. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the third quarter valued at approximately $89,000. First Nebraska Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the third quarter valued at approximately $316,000. Finally, Summit Wealth Group LLC Co. raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 0.5% during the third quarter. Summit Wealth Group LLC Co. now owns 22,041 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,464,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of AFL opened at $126.17 on Friday. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $105.76 and a twelve month high of $131.19. The stock's 50 day moving average is $117.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $116.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.26 billion, a PE ratio of 18.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.63. The business had revenue of $4.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.12 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 12.75% and a net margin of 21.24%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 31.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.49 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 18th. Aflac's dividend payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Aflac news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 113,611 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.53, for a total value of $13,466,311.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 50,134,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,942,422,016.37. This represents a 0.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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. Insiders sold a total of 713,662 shares of company stock worth $83,323,978 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AFL. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Aflac from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $116.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. TD Cowen reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $110.00 price objective (up from $101.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Aflac from $122.00 to $116.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Aflac from $116.00 to $107.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $117.20.

Trending Headlines about Aflac

Here are the key news stories impacting Aflac this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Aflac reported third-quarter adjusted earnings of $2.43 per share, above the roughly $1.80 analyst estimate. Stronger U.S. profit growth and lower expenses helped drive the beat. Aflac Q3 earnings beat estimates on strong US profit growth
• Positive Sentiment: The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.61 per share, payable December 1, extending its dividend-growth streak to 44 years and reinforcing its appeal to income-focused investors. Aflac declares fourth-quarter dividend
• Neutral Sentiment: Aflac expects a 35%–38% pretax margin in Japan and is targeting reinsurance cessions covering 30% of FSA reserves. The plan may support profitability and capital management, but execution and its eventual financial impact remain to be seen. Aflac Japan margin and reinsurance targets
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the adjusted earnings beat, Aflac’s reported net profit fell, and revenue was down 31% year over year in the supplied results. Weaker Japan results, currency headwinds and portfolio-related losses weighed on the overall picture. Aflac Q3 profit falls

Aflac Profile

Aflac Incorporated NYSE: AFL is an insurance company specializing in supplemental health and life insurance. Through its policies, the company helps individuals and families manage expenses that may not be fully covered by major medical insurance, including deductibles, copayments and other out-of-pocket costs.

Aflac offers products such as accident, cancer, critical illness, hospital indemnity, dental and vision, disability, life and long-term care insurance. Many of its supplemental policies provide cash benefits directly to policyholders, who can generally use the funds according to their individual needs.

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