Bleakley Financial Group LLC Boosts Stake in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 1.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,330 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 177 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $1,195,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 1.1% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 5,307,681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $590,161,000 after purchasing an additional 56,776 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 10.8% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,575,054 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $397,510,000 after purchasing an additional 349,787 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 0.8% during the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,730,739 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $192,441,000 after purchasing an additional 13,575 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 4.3% during the second quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,703,397 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $178,056,000 after purchasing an additional 70,244 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 26.2% during the second quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,654,802 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $174,515,000 after purchasing an additional 343,881 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In other Aflac news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total value of $102,570.00. Following the sale, the director owned 25,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,575,019.85. This trade represents a 3.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on AFL. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $102.00 price objective (up previously from $100.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Piper Sandler set a $125.00 price objective on shares of Aflac and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Aflac in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $109.45.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AFL opened at $107.22 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $108.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $105.59. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $96.95 and a 52 week high of $115.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.31, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter. Aflac had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 15.08%. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter. Analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, August 12th that permits the company to repurchase 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th were paid a $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.61%.

Aflac Company 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.