Daiichi Life Insurance Co. Ltd. Invests $2.25 Million in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Daiichi Life Insurance Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 19,226 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,254,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Groupe la Francaise acquired a new position in Aflac during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Aflac during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in Aflac in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Finally, Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC bought a new position in Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AFL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Aflac from $117.00 to $116.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $122.00 price target on Aflac and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings upgraded Aflac from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Mizuho set a $116.00 target price on shares of Aflac in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $116.62.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In related news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.10, for a total value of $74,460.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 32,710 shares in the company, valued at $4,059,311. This trade represents a 1.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 12,700 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.05, for a total transaction of $1,486,535.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 50,817,790 shares in the company, valued at $5,948,222,319.50. The trade was a 0.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 497,625 shares of company stock valued at $58,356,483. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Aflac Stock Performance

AFL stock opened at $116.12 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $121.55 and its 200-day moving average is $116.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market cap of $58.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.60. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $104.66 and a twelve month high of $130.22.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.76 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $4.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.11 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 26.91%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.78 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.04 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be paid a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is 26.15%.

Aflac News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Aflac this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Aflac’s quarterly dividend is $0.61 per share, or $2.44 annualized, providing a yield of roughly 2.1%. The company has a long record of dividend growth and a relatively low payout ratio of about 26%, supporting its appeal as a defensive income stock.
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent earnings were mixed: quarterly revenue of $4.22 billion exceeded analyst expectations of $4.11 billion, but earnings per share of $1.75 narrowly missed the $1.76 consensus. Revenue declined 1% year over year and EPS fell from $1.78 in the prior-year quarter, limiting fundamental momentum.
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street’s overall view remains cautious, with a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target near $116.62. Some analysts remain constructive, including Piper Sandler with a $138 target, while others maintain neutral or underweight ratings.
• Negative Sentiment: Wolfe Research initiated coverage with an “underperform” rating and a $103 price target, implying meaningful downside from recent trading levels. The call adds to existing concerns from Barclays and JPMorgan, which also have cautious ratings or targets. Wolfe Research Starts Aflac at Underperform
• Negative Sentiment: Japan Post Holdings, Aflac’s major shareholder, sold another 12,700 shares on August 19 for approximately $1.49 million, following sales of 14,200 shares on August 18 and 13,900 shares on August 17. The transactions were conducted under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan and represent only a small reduction in its stake, but the repeated selling may weigh on investor sentiment. Aflac SEC Insider Filing

Aflac Company 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.