Aflac Incorporated $AFL Shares Purchased by UniSuper Management Pty Ltd

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd grew its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 46,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,158 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in Aflac were worth $5,161,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in AFL. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 16.7% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,167,886 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $439,545,000 after buying an additional 594,971 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Aflac in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $432,201,000. Guinness Asset Management LTD raised its stake in Aflac by 19.4% during the 2nd quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 2,372,484 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $250,187,000 after acquiring an additional 385,546 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Aflac by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,768,705 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $196,662,000 after acquiring an additional 65,308 shares during the period. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its position in Aflac by 26.2% during the 2nd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,654,802 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $174,515,000 after acquiring an additional 343,881 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Aflac news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 15,862 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.00, for a total transaction of $1,776,544.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 230,688 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,837,056. The trade was a 6.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Steven Kent Beaver sold 5,492 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.53, for a total transaction of $601,538.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 38,368 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,202,447.04. The trade was a 12.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 31,766 shares of company stock valued at $3,549,706. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Aflac Stock Down 1.1%

AFL stock opened at $107.08 on Monday. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $96.95 and a 12 month high of $115.83. The firm has a market cap of $56.12 billion, a PE ratio of 13.98, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.67. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $109.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $108.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.72. The firm had revenue of $4.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.36 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 23.55% and a return on equity of 14.97%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 59.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.16 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. This is a boost from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 18th. Aflac’s payout ratio is presently 30.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AFL. Morgan Stanley set a $120.00 price target on Aflac in a report on Monday, December 15th. Barclays set a $101.00 target price on shares of Aflac and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Aflac from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Aflac from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $110.64.

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.