Vanguard Group Inc. Buys 6,759,169 Shares of Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Key Points

• Vanguard increased its stake in Aflac by 13.4%, buying 6,759,169 shares to own 57,142,072 shares (about 10.90%), valued at roughly $6.30 billion.
• Aflac missed Q4 estimates, reporting EPS of $1.57 versus a $1.69 consensus and revenue of $4.28 billion versus $4.45 billion, with revenue down 9.6% year‑over‑year.
• Institutional investors hold 67.44% of the stock, insiders sold 572,632 shares (including Post Holdings' 86,155-share sale), and analysts have a consensus rating of Hold with an average price target of $111.82 versus the recent price around $114.71.

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 13.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 57,142,072 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,759,169 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 10.90% of Aflac worth $6,301,056,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mattern Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Aflac by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Mattern Capital Management LLC now owns 108,905 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $12,009,000 after buying an additional 4,702 shares during the last quarter. Approach Retirement Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac during the fourth quarter worth about $11,759,000. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Aflac by 63.5% during the fourth quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 67,648 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,460,000 after buying an additional 26,282 shares in the last quarter. TKG Advisors LLC increased its stake in Aflac by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. TKG Advisors LLC now owns 23,210 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,559,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares during the period. Finally, AGP Franklin LLC increased its stake in Aflac by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. AGP Franklin LLC now owns 18,779 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,071,000 after acquiring an additional 503 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Aflac Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE AFL opened at $114.71 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock's 50 day moving average is $111.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $110.72. The company has a market capitalization of $59.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.67, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.66. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $96.95 and a 1-year high of $119.32.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Aflac news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 86,155 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.24, for a total value of $9,756,192.20. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 51,636,945 shares in the company, valued at $5,847,367,651.80. This represents a 0.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 572,632 shares of company stock valued at $63,514,634. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on AFL. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Aflac from $118.00 to $116.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 10th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Aflac from $116.00 to $114.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Piper Sandler upgraded Aflac to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Barclays set a $101.00 target price on Aflac and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Mizuho set a $102.00 price target on shares of Aflac and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $111.82.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.