Aflac Incorporated $AFL Stock Holdings Increased by Maj Invest Holding A S

Maj Invest Holding A S lifted its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 1.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 576,447 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,643 shares during the quarter. Aflac comprises about 2.2% of Maj Invest Holding A S’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Maj Invest Holding A S owned 0.11% of Aflac worth $64,389,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Aflac by 16.7% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,167,886 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $439,545,000 after acquiring an additional 594,971 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the second quarter valued at approximately $432,201,000. Guinness Asset Management LTD raised its stake in Aflac by 19.4% during the 2nd quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 2,372,484 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $250,187,000 after purchasing an additional 385,546 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in Aflac by 3.8% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,768,705 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $196,662,000 after buying an additional 65,308 shares during the period. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 26.2% in the 2nd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,654,802 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $174,515,000 after purchasing an additional 343,881 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other Aflac news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 15,862 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.00, for a total transaction of $1,776,544.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 230,688 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,837,056. The trade was a 6.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 786 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.75, for a total value of $89,407.50. Following the sale, the director directly owned 24,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,824,298.75. This trade represents a 3.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 31,766 shares of company stock valued at $3,549,706 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AFL. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Aflac from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Aflac from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Morgan Stanley set a $120.00 price target on Aflac in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Piper Sandler set a $125.00 price objective on Aflac and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Aflac in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $110.64.

Aflac Trading Up 1.7%

AFL stock opened at $108.93 on Tuesday. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $96.95 and a fifty-two week high of $115.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $109.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $108.07.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.72. Aflac had a net margin of 23.55% and a return on equity of 14.97%. The business had revenue of $4.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.36 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.16 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 59.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th will be paid a $0.61 dividend. This is an increase from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Aflac’s payout ratio is 30.29%.

Aflac Company 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.