Securian Asset Management Inc. Has $1.41 Million Position in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Key Points

• Securian Asset Management cut its Aflac stake by 44.8% in the fourth quarter, leaving it with 12,826 shares worth about $1.41 million.
• Insider selling continued, with major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan selling 166,000 shares in a Rule 10b5-1 transaction; insiders sold 573,475 shares last quarter overall.
• Analysts are mixed on Aflac, with a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $111.36, while the stock recently traded at $115.44 after Aflac reported slightly weaker-than-expected quarterly EPS.

Securian Asset Management Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 44.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,826 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 10,419 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Aflac were worth $1,414,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. BIP Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 348.3% during the 4th quarter. BIP Wealth LLC now owns 55,723 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,145,000 after acquiring an additional 43,293 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in Aflac by 10.4% in the third quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,731,482 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $193,407,000 after buying an additional 163,791 shares in the last quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. boosted its position in Aflac by 126.1% in the third quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 21,345 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,384,000 after buying an additional 11,903 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Aflac by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,866,471 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $206,712,000 after buying an additional 97,766 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in Aflac by 12.0% in the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 97,344 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $10,841,000 after buying an additional 10,423 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 166,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 573,475 shares of company stock worth $63,610,696 in the last quarter. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on AFL. Mizuho set a $104.00 price target on shares of Aflac in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Aflac from $116.00 to $111.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Evercore upgraded shares of Aflac from a "strong sell" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Aflac from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Barclays set a $99.00 price target on shares of Aflac and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $111.36.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of AFL stock opened at $115.44 on Tuesday. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $96.95 and a 1 year high of $119.32. The firm's 50 day moving average is $111.46 and its 200-day moving average is $111.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.10, a PEG ratio of 1.97 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 announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.05). Aflac had a return on equity of 13.88% and a net margin of 25.60%.The company had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.66 earnings per share. Aflac's revenue for the quarter was up 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders 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 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 20th. Aflac's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.70%.

Aflac 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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