The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 26,130 Shares of Aflac Incorporated $AFL

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company cut its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 9.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 245,674 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 26,130 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Aflac were worth $26,953,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 6,759,169 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Aflac by 1.5% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,550,855 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $499,216,000 after purchasing an additional 67,650 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at about $420,078,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Aflac by 161.9% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,184,801 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $349,405,000 after purchasing an additional 1,968,738 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its position in shares of Aflac by 1.3% during 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 last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Aflac from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Mizuho set a $112.00 target price on shares of Aflac in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $130.00 price target (up from $125.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 price target (up from $101.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $116.17.

Aflac Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE AFL opened at $127.53 on Friday. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $96.95 and a 52 week high of $130.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a market capitalization of $64.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.61. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $119.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $114.80.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.20 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 25.60% and a return on equity of 13.88%. The company’s revenue was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.66 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Aflac news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 12,370 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.54, for a total value of $1,441,599.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 33,310 shares in the company, valued at $3,881,947.40. This represents a 27.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 27,845 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.71, for a total transaction of $3,249,789.95. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 50,898,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,940,362,767.90. This trade represents a 0.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 744,916 shares of company stock worth $87,118,632. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Aflac 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.