Versor Investments LP Buys New Stake in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Key Points

• Versor Investments LP initiated a new position in Aflac during the fourth quarter, buying 9,182 shares worth about $1.0 million.
• Aflac reported quarterly earnings of $1.75 per share, missing estimates, while revenue of $4.24 billion came in slightly ahead of expectations and rose 27.9% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.61 per share, equal to an annualized yield of about 2.1%; meanwhile, analysts currently rate the stock a Hold on average with a consensus target price of $111.36.

Versor Investments LP bought a new stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 9,182 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,012,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AFL. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in 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 boosted its position in Aflac by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,402 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $455,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new position in Aflac in the 2nd quarter valued at about $280,000. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in 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 buying an additional 15,105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC boosted its position in 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 buying an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In other news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 166,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.38, for a total transaction of $18,655,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 51,723,100 shares in the company, valued at $5,812,641,978. This represents a 0.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 573,475 shares of company stock worth $63,610,696. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Aflac Price Performance

NYSE:AFL opened at $116.20 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $59.14 billion, a PE ratio of 13.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.62. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $96.95 and a 12 month high of $119.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company's 50-day moving average price is $111.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $111.10.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 25.60% and a return on equity of 13.88%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.66 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th will be given a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Aflac's payout ratio is 27.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Mizuho set a $104.00 price target on shares of Aflac in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Evercore upgraded shares of Aflac from a "strong sell" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Aflac from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Aflac from $116.00 to $111.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Aflac from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $111.36.

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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