Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Has $105.62 Million Stake in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lowered its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 21.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 957,863 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 266,771 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund owned approximately 0.18% of Aflac worth $105,624,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Navalign LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Activest Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 95.6% during the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 311 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 80.6% during the 4th quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC now owns 354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Aflac

Here are the key news stories impacting Aflac this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Aflac continues to be viewed as a dependable income stock, supported by 44 consecutive years of dividend growth and a recently paid quarterly dividend of $0.61 per share. The “Duck Stock” Keeps Quietly Making Money for Shareholders
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive enough to keep Aflac on the radar as a stable insurance name, with recent commentary highlighting reliable returns from dividends, buybacks, and supplemental insurance growth. 3 Insurance Stocks Hitting 52-Week Highs With More Room to Run
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent market coverage describes Aflac as a steady, low-volatility insurer, but also suggests the stock’s quality may already be fairly priced in, limiting near-term upside. 4 Stocks Making New Highs Despite Market Weakness
• Negative Sentiment: Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan has continued trimming its Aflac stake through a series of insider sales in June, which may create some investor concern even though the trades were disclosed under a 10b5-1 plan. SEC Filing

Aflac Stock Performance

NYSE:AFL opened at $117.56 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $114.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $111.99. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $96.95 and a 1 year high of $119.81. The company has a market capitalization of $59.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.61.

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

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Aflac’s payout ratio is presently 27.70%.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other Aflac news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 26,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.00, for a total transaction of $3,100,500.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 51,116,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,980,599,495. The trade was a 0.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 936,356 shares of company stock worth $107,019,534. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on AFL shares. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Aflac from $116.00 to $114.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Aflac from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Evercore raised shares of Aflac from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Barclays set a $99.00 price objective on Aflac and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Aflac presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $112.27.

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.