CI Investments Inc. Raises Stock Position in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

CI Investments Inc. raised its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 12.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 57,821 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,264 shares during the quarter. CI Investments Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $6,344,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Aflac by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 57,142,072 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,301,056,000 after buying an additional 6,759,169 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,550,855 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $499,216,000 after acquiring an additional 67,650 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter worth approximately $420,078,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Aflac by 161.9% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,184,801 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $349,405,000 after acquiring an additional 1,968,738 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its stake in shares of Aflac by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,664,783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $293,846,000 after purchasing an additional 32,907 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In related news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 63,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.12, for a total transaction of $7,441,560.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 51,169,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,044,133,662.20. This represents a 0.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 744,916 shares of company stock valued at $87,118,632. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Up 0.6%

AFL stock opened at $124.36 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $118.47 and a 200 day moving average of $114.11. The firm has a market cap of $63.30 billion, a PE ratio of 14.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.61. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $96.95 and a twelve month high of $125.93. 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 (NYSE:AFL) last released its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.20 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.66 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AFL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Aflac from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Aflac from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Aflac from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $124.00 price target (up from $114.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $116.17.

About Aflac

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.