Korea Investment CORP Has $37.72 Million Position in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Korea Investment CORP lifted its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 357,688 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,803 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP owned approximately 0.07% of Aflac worth $37,722,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the 1st quarter valued at $2,070,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the first quarter valued at about $551,000. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 140,874 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,857,000 after purchasing an additional 6,400 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 8.2% in the 2nd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,652,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $174,273,000 after buying an additional 124,706 shares during the period. Finally, S&CO Inc. grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. S&CO Inc. now owns 84,270 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,887,000 after buying an additional 1,100 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Frederic Jean Guy Simard sold 1,722 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total transaction of $193,725.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 1,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $153,450. This trade represents a 55.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.00, for a total value of $114,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 23,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,692,110. This represents a 4.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 22,822 shares of company stock valued at $2,571,002 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE AFL opened at $110.31 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $110.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $106.27. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $96.95 and a 12 month high of $115.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.01, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.83.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Aflac had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 15.08%. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter. On average, analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, August 12th that authorizes the company to buyback 100,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th will be paid a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 18th. This is a boost from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AFL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler set a $125.00 price target on Aflac and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $104.00 target price (up from $102.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Aflac from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Aflac from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $111.00.

Aflac Company Profile

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.