Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co Boosts Stock Position in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Key Points

• Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co increased its stake in Aflac by 10.7% in the fourth quarter to 124,191 shares, valued at about $13.7 million.
• Aflac reported quarterly EPS of $1.75, missing estimates by $0.05, while revenue of $4.35 billion beat expectations and was up 27.9% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.61 payable June 1 (ex-dividend May 20), representing a $2.44 annualized payout and a 2.2% yield.

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co increased its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 10.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 124,191 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 12,000 shares during the period. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co's holdings in Aflac were worth $13,695,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AFL. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Aflac by 64.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,570 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,507,000 after acquiring an additional 5,708 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Aflac by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,402 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $455,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 2nd quarter valued at about $280,000. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in shares of Aflac by 11.2% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 150,334 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $15,854,000 after acquiring an additional 15,105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC lifted its stake in shares of Aflac by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 11,953 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,261,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Aflac Trading Up 0.4%

AFL opened at $113.33 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $111.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $110.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.86, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $96.95 and a one year high of $119.32.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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). The business had revenue of $4.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.20 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 25.60% and a return on equity of 13.88%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.66 EPS. Analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th will be given a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Aflac's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AFL. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Aflac from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Wall Street Zen lowered Aflac from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target 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. Evercore raised Aflac from a "strong sell" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Aflac from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $111.82.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 166,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.38, for a total value of $18,655,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 51,723,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,812,641,978. This represents a 0.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 572,632 shares of company stock valued at $63,514,634. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Aflac 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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