Empowered Funds LLC Acquires New Position in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 52,111 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $6,110,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AFL. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Groupe la Francaise acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting Aflac

Here are the key news stories impacting Aflac this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Aflac’s quarterly dividend remains a support for income-focused investors. The company declared a $0.61-per-share payment, equivalent to $2.44 annually and a yield of approximately 2.1%, with a relatively modest 26.15% payout ratio. A Boring Dividend Growth Strategy Becomes a Solid Defensive Play
• Neutral Sentiment: Aflac’s valuation remains relatively moderate, with a price-to-earnings ratio near 12.5. However, analyst sentiment is mixed: the consensus rating is “Hold,” and the average price target of $116.62 is close to the stock’s recent trading level.
• Neutral Sentiment: Aflac’s recent quarterly results were mixed. Earnings of $1.75 per share narrowly missed estimates, while revenue of $4.22 billion exceeded expectations; revenue nevertheless declined 1% year over year and EPS fell from $1.78 in the prior-year quarter. Aflac stock steadies as Japan Post trims stake and mixed Q2 2026 results shape outlook
• Negative Sentiment: Japan Post Holdings has continued reducing its Aflac stake, selling 13,200 shares for approximately $1.55 million on August 26 and 12,700 shares for approximately $1.48 million on August 25. The transactions were conducted under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, and each reduced its ownership by only 0.03%, limiting the immediate fundamental impact. However, the repeated sales may create a supply overhang and weigh on investor sentiment. Major AFLAC Stakeholder Makes Bold Move With Multimillion-Dollar Stock Sale

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 63,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.12, for a total transaction of $7,441,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 51,169,435 shares in the company, valued at $6,044,133,662.20. This trade represents a 0.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Insiders sold 506,265 shares of company stock worth $59,495,304 in the last 90 days. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Aflac Price Performance

Aflac stock opened at $116.66 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $121.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $116.23. The company has a market capitalization of $58.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.60. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $104.66 and a 1 year high of $130.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a current ratio of 0.12.

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

Aflac Announces Dividend

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 paid a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is 26.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AFL. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $108.00 price objective (up from $100.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Friday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Aflac from $117.00 to $116.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Aflac from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Wells Fargo & Company set a $122.00 price target on Aflac and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $116.62.

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.