Cibc World Market Inc. Buys Shares of 61,050 Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Cibc World Market Inc. bought a new position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 61,050 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $7,158,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AFL. Brighton Jones LLC increased 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 worth $1,507,000 after purchasing an additional 5,708 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,402 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $455,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the second quarter valued at about $280,000. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 11.2% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 150,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $15,854,000 after purchasing an additional 15,105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 1.6% during the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 11,953 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,261,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 63,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.12, for a total value of $7,441,560.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 51,169,435 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,044,133,662.20. The trade was a 0.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 494,225 shares of company stock worth $57,960,715. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AFL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings raised Aflac from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $108.00 target price (up from $100.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $138.00 target price (up from $130.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, August 10th. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $99.00 price target (up from $98.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $116.62.

Aflac Trading Down 1.7%

NYSE AFL opened at $116.17 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.24 billion, a PE ratio of 12.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.60. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $121.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $116.21. The company has a current ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $104.66 and a 12 month high of $130.22.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $4.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.11 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 26.91%.Aflac’s revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.78 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.04 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.15%.

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.