UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Has $543.15 Million Stock Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 11.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,250,905 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 556,394 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned about 0.95% of Aflac worth $543,154,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AFL. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Aflac Price Performance

Aflac stock traded up $0.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $102.59. 1,641,470 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,114,525. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The business has a fifty day moving average of $106.76 and a 200 day moving average of $106.42. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $86.46 and a 1-year high of $115.50. The company has a market capitalization of $55.46 billion, a PE ratio of 10.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.84.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.67 by ($0.01). Aflac had a net margin of 28.76% and a return on equity of 16.20%. The business had revenue of $3.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.66 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 37.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 21st will be paid a $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 21st. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. Aflac's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on AFL. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Aflac from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. UBS Group upped their target price on Aflac from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Aflac in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $111.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Aflac from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $104.57.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Masatoshi Koide sold 37,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.59, for a total value of $3,906,830.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 70,992 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,496,045.28. This trade represents a 34.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.63, for a total value of $107,630.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 25,393 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,733,048.59. This trade represents a 3.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 71,552 shares of company stock worth $7,609,382. 0.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Aflac Profile

Aflac Incorporated, through its subsidiaries, provides supplemental health and life insurance products. The company operates through Aflac Japan and Aflac U.S. segments. The Aflac Japan segment offers cancer, medical, nursing care, work leave, GIFT, and whole and term life insurance products, as well as WAYS and child endowment plans under saving type insurance products in Japan.