Swiss National Bank Raises Holdings in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Key Points

• Swiss National Bank increased its Aflac stake by 5% in the first quarter, buying 69,000 more shares and bringing its total holding to 1,461,300 shares worth about $160.3 million.
• Aflac reported mixed quarterly results: earnings of $1.75 per share missed analyst expectations of $1.80, but revenue came in above estimates at $4.24 billion and rose 27.9% year over year.
• The company continues to return cash to shareholders with a quarterly dividend of $0.61 per share, equal to an annualized yield of about 2.0% and a payout ratio of 27.7%.

Swiss National Bank raised its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 5.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,461,300 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 69,000 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.28% of Aflac worth $160,319,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Aflac in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC acquired a new position in Aflac during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Evergreen Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Aflac during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Navalign LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Aflac Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:AFL opened at $124.79 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $117.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $113.74. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $96.95 and a twelve month high of $125.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a market capitalization of $63.52 billion, a PE ratio of 14.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.61.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.05). Aflac had a net margin of 25.60% and a return on equity of 13.88%. The company had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.20 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.66 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Aflac's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AFL. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Aflac from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Mizuho set a $112.00 price target on Aflac in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $108.00 price target (up from $100.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $130.00 price objective (up from $125.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $114.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 63,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.12, for a total transaction of $7,441,560.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 51,169,435 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,044,133,662.20. The trade was a 0.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 sold a total of 744,916 shares of company stock worth $87,118,632 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

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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