Teacher Retirement System of Texas Grows Position in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Key Points

• Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its position in Aflac by 18.8% in Q4 to 94,175 shares, worth about $10.39 million.
• Aflac missed Q4 EPS expectations ($1.57 vs. $1.69) and reported revenue down 9.6% year‑over‑year, indicating near‑term earnings pressure.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed with a MarketBeat consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $111.82, while broker ratings range from Strong Buy to Sell.

Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 18.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 94,175 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 14,913 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in Aflac were worth $10,385,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AFL. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in shares of Aflac by 188.5% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 225 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Aflac by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 324 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the 3rd quarter valued at about $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Aflac Price Performance

AFL opened at $114.71 on Friday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $111.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $110.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $96.95 and a 1 year high of $119.32. The firm has a market cap of $59.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.67, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.66.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.69 by ($0.12). Aflac had a return on equity of 14.35% and a net margin of 21.24%.The company had revenue of $4.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.45 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.57 earnings per share. Aflac's revenue was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In related news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 166,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was 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 $5,812,641,978. This trade represents a 0.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 572,632 shares of company stock worth $63,514,634. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on AFL. Wall Street Zen lowered Aflac from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Aflac from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Barclays set a $101.00 price objective on Aflac and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $119.00 price objective (up from $110.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Aflac from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $111.82.

Aflac Company 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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