Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Purchases 5,229 Shares of Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 5.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 94,764 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,229 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $11,111,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AFL. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Aflac during the 2nd quarter valued at $4,093,787,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in Aflac during the 4th quarter worth approximately $420,078,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the 2nd quarter valued at $404,639,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Aflac in the second quarter valued at about $298,418,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Aflac during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $244,516,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Aflac News

Here are the key news stories impacting Aflac this week:

• Neutral Sentiment: Aflac announced that CFO Max K. will present at the 2026 KBW Insurance Conference. The event could provide investors with updates on operating trends, capital allocation and the insurance market, but the announcement included no new guidance or financial details. Aflac Incorporated to Present at the 2026 KBW Insurance Conference
• Neutral Sentiment: The company’s quarterly dividend of $0.61 per share was paid on September 1, supporting Aflac’s income-investment appeal. However, the payment and ex-dividend date were previously announced and are unlikely to be a major new trading catalyst.
• Negative Sentiment: Japan Post Holdings, Aflac’s major shareholder, disclosed several small stock sales, including 12,700 shares on August 31 for about $1.47 million and 13,000 shares on August 28 for about $1.51 million. The shareholder has been steadily reducing its position through multiple transactions, which may create a modest overhang, although each sale reduced ownership by only about 0.03% and was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. Aflac Major Shareholder Sells Stock

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 12,700 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.00, for a total transaction of $1,473,200.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 50,713,990 shares in the company, valued at $5,882,822,840. This trade represents a 0.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 518,615 shares of company stock worth $60,981,824. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on AFL shares. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $124.00 price target (up from $114.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $103.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $108.00 price target (up from $100.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Mizuho set a $116.00 target price on shares of Aflac in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Aflac currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $116.62.

Aflac Price Performance

Aflac stock opened at $117.30 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.59. 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 Incorporated has a 52 week low of $104.66 and a 52 week high of $130.22. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $121.54 and a 200-day moving average of $116.24.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 26.91% and a return on equity of 13.27%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.78 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th were given a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.