Swedbank AB Decreases Position in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Key Points

• Swedbank AB trimmed its Q4 stake in Aflac by 3.9% to 276,878 shares (about 0.05%) valued at $30.53M, as institutional investors collectively hold roughly 67.44% of the company.
• Insider selling has been notable: insiders disposed of 572,875 shares worth $63.54M in the past 90 days, including an 86,155-share sale by Post Holdings, leaving insiders with about 0.80% ownership.
• Aflac missed quarterly EPS ($1.75 vs. $1.80) though revenue rose 27.9% to $4.24B; analysts' consensus is a Hold with an average price target of $111.36, and the company declared a $0.61 quarterly dividend (2.1% yield).

Swedbank AB decreased its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 3.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 276,878 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 11,336 shares during the period. Swedbank AB owned approximately 0.05% of Aflac worth $30,531,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the second quarter worth about $33,000. Activest Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 95.6% in the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 311 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the period. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 100.0% in the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 324 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the period. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the third quarter worth about $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In other Aflac news, Director Miwako Hosoda sold 243 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.50, for a total transaction of $27,823.50. Following the sale, the director owned 7,743 shares in the company, valued at $886,573.50. This represents a 3.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 86,155 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.24, for a total value of $9,756,192.20. Following the sale, the insider owned 51,636,945 shares in the company, valued at $5,847,367,651.80. The trade was a 0.17% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 572,875 shares of company stock worth $63,542,458 in the last 90 days. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded Aflac from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Mizuho set a $104.00 target price on Aflac in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Aflac from $116.00 to $111.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Evercore raised Aflac from a "strong sell" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on Aflac from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $111.36.

Aflac Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE:AFL opened at $113.55 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $96.95 and a one year high of $119.32. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $111.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $110.96. The stock has a market cap of $58.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.62.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.05). Aflac had a net margin of 25.60% and a return on equity of 13.88%. The firm 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 earned $1.66 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Aflac's dividend payout ratio 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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