Aflac Incorporated $AFL Shares Purchased by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank boosted its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 5.0% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,461,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 69,000 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Aflac were worth $160,319,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AFL. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Aflac during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Evergreen Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Navalign LLC purchased a new position in Aflac during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Aflac Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $124.79 on Monday. 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 Incorporated has a 52 week low of $96.95 and a 52 week high of $125.93. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $117.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $113.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $63.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.61.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.66 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Aflac from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Barclays cut their target price on Aflac from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Mizuho set a $112.00 price target on Aflac in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Aflac from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Evercore raised Aflac from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $114.50.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In other news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 12,370 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.54, for a total transaction of $1,441,599.80. Following the sale, the director owned 33,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,881,947.40. The trade was a 27.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 27,845 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.71, for a total value of $3,249,789.95. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 50,898,490 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,940,362,767.90. This represents a 0.05% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 744,916 shares of company stock worth $87,118,632 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

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.