Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Trims Stock Position in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lowered its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 7.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 527,102 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 39,739 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $58,124,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. DNB Asset Management AS increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 51.3% in the 4th quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 168,003 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,526,000 after purchasing an additional 56,975 shares in the last quarter. BIP Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 348.3% in the 4th quarter. BIP Wealth LLC now owns 55,723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,145,000 after purchasing an additional 43,293 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 10.4% in the 3rd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,731,482 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $193,407,000 after purchasing an additional 163,791 shares in the last quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 126.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 21,345 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,384,000 after purchasing an additional 11,903 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Employees Retirement System of Texas purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,743,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AFL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted 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. Weiss Ratings lowered Aflac from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Friday. Barclays set a $99.00 price target on Aflac and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Mizuho set a $104.00 price target on Aflac in a research note on Monday, May 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $112.27.

Key Headlines Impacting Aflac

Here are the key news stories impacting Aflac this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Aflac issued yen-denominated senior notes, which should improve financial flexibility and support capital management. Aflac Issues Yen-Denominated Senior Notes for Flexibility
• Positive Sentiment: Recent analyst estimates remain slightly above current consensus, with DOWLING & PARTN projecting modest earnings growth into FY2027 and FY2028, suggesting longer-term earnings momentum. Aflac analyst estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: Several insider sales by Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan were disclosed, but they were pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 transactions and represent only small reductions in ownership. Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan Sells 31,100 Shares of Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: EVP Steven Kent Beaver also sold shares in a disclosed transaction, which may weigh on sentiment but does not appear to signal a fundamental change. Steven Kent Beaver Sells 5,508 Shares of Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Aflac’s last quarterly report missed EPS expectations, and some analysts have trimmed or only maintained cautious ratings, limiting upside enthusiasm. Aflac earnings and analyst coverage

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Aflac news, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 1,740 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.57, for a total transaction of $202,831.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 13,219 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,540,938.83. The trade was a 11.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 11,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.50, for a total value of $1,316,700.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 51,302,145 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,925,397,747.50. This trade represents a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 910,436 shares of company stock worth $103,126,371. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Price Performance

NYSE:AFL opened at $112.37 on Monday. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $96.95 and a 12 month high of $119.81. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $113.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $111.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a market cap of $57.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.61.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.05). Aflac had a return on equity of 13.88% and a net margin of 25.60%.The firm had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.66 earnings per share. Aflac’s quarterly revenue was up 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 20th. Aflac’s payout ratio is 27.70%.

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.