Swedbank AB Cuts Stock Position in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

by · The Cerbat Gem

Swedbank AB decreased its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFLFree Report) by 2.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 269,140 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,738 shares during the period. Swedbank AB’s holdings in Aflac were worth $29,527,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

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

Aflac Price Performance

NYSE AFL opened at $121.39 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $116.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $113.13. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $96.95 and a 1 year high of $122.80. The company has a market cap of $61.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.78, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.61.

Aflac (NYSE:AFLGet Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.05). The firm 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 period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.66 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 63,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider owned 51,169,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,044,133,662.20. The trade was a 0.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 744,916 shares of company stock valued at $87,118,632 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Barclays dropped their price target on Aflac from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Aflac from $116.00 to $111.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Evercore raised shares of Aflac from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Aflac from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $113.09.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on AFL

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.

Further Reading

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