Sterling Capital Management LLC Cuts Position in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

27 Jun 2026, 08:04 by Renee Jackson · The Cerbat Gem

Sterling Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL – Free Report) by 4.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 432,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 19,500 shares during the quarter. Aflac accounts for about 0.9% of Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $47,418,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AFL. Stephens Inc. AR increased its position in shares of Aflac by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 21,945 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,420,000 after buying an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $234,000 after buying an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 19,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,105,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC grew its stake in Aflac by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 7,702 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $902,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, Confluence Wealth Services Inc. increased its holdings in Aflac by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 11,923 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,315,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $120.04 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $115.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $112.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $96.95 and a 52 week high of $120.27.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 13.88% and a net margin of 25.60%.The business’s revenue was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.66 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 20th were issued a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 20th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on AFL shares. Mizuho set a $104.00 price objective on shares of Aflac in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Aflac from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Aflac from $116.00 to $114.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Evercore upgraded Aflac from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $112.27.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on AFL

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Aflac news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 166,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.38, for a total transaction of $18,655,080.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 51,723,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,812,641,978. The trade was a 0.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 1,082,471 shares of company stock worth $124,943,184 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.