M&G Plc Acquires New Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

M&G Plc bought a new position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 28,479 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,535,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Eudaimonia Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Aflac by 234.6% during the 4th quarter. Eudaimonia Partners LLC now owns 10,448 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $862,000 after acquiring an additional 7,325 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in Aflac by 22.6% during the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 86,010 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,096,000 after purchasing an additional 15,855 shares in the last quarter. Southeast Asset Advisors Inc. raised its position in Aflac by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Southeast Asset Advisors Inc. now owns 139,164 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,481,000 after acquiring an additional 589 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in Aflac by 6.7% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,806,475 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $155,140,000 after buying an additional 113,226 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter worth about $12,546,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Aflac Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:AFL traded up $0.54 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $101.73. The company had a trading volume of 1,445,956 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,231,792. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.10 and a quick ratio of 0.08. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $72.78 and a one year high of $104.90. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $92.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $86.38. The company has a market capitalization of $57.81 billion, a PE ratio of 11.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.95.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $5.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.10 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.22% and a net margin of 28.35%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.58 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.48 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 21st. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AFL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Aflac from $84.00 to $83.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 28th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Aflac from $82.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Aflac from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Citigroup boosted their target price on Aflac from $84.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Aflac from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $88.69.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 2,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.94, for a total value of $197,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 18,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,796,552.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 2,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.94, for a total transaction of $197,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 18,158 shares in the company, valued at $1,796,552.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 22,378 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.47, for a total transaction of $1,957,403.66. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 61,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,381,329.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Aflac

Aflac Incorporated, through its subsidiaries, provides supplemental health and life insurance products. The company operates through Aflac Japan and Aflac U.S. segments. The Aflac Japan segment offers cancer, medical, nursing care, work leave, GIFT, and whole and term life insurance products, as well as WAYS and child endowment plans under saving type insurance products in Japan.