Aflac Incorporated $AFL Shares Bought by Western Wealth Management LLC

Western Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 409.3% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 11,881 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,548 shares during the quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $1,303,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 57,142,072 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,301,056,000 after purchasing an additional 6,759,169 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Aflac in the 4th quarter worth about $420,078,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in 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 worth $349,405,000 after buying an additional 1,968,738 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Aflac by 1,184.5% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,264,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $141,199,000 after buying an additional 1,165,676 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in Aflac by 390.7% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,111,711 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $122,588,000 after buying an additional 885,141 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Aflac news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 63,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.12, for a total value of $7,441,560.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 51,169,435 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,044,133,662.20. This represents a 0.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 645,273 shares of company stock worth $75,599,007 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of Aflac stock opened at $120.62 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $121.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $115.68. The company has a market cap of $60.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $103.80 and a 1 year high of $130.22.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.76 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $4.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.11 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 26.91% and a return on equity of 13.27%. The company’s revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.78 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on AFL. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $99.00 target price (up from $98.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Friday, August 7th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $138.00 price target (up from $130.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $124.00 price target (up from $114.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $117.00 to $116.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 price objective (up from $101.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $117.58.

More Aflac News

Here are the key news stories impacting Aflac this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised its price target to $125 from $120 while maintaining a “market perform” rating, indicating limited but improved upside potential. Benzinga analyst rating update
• Positive Sentiment: Accident and health insurers, including Aflac, could benefit from increased underwriting exposure and greater digitalization. However, rising medical costs and inflation may pressure pricing. Zacks accident and health insurers outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo kept a “hold” rating and a $120 price target, citing Aflac’s solid sector positioning but modest growth prospects and questions around mergers-and-acquisitions capital allocation. Wells Fargo Aflac rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 600 shares worth approximately $74,460 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale reduced his position by 1.8%, making it a limited insider-selling signal. Aflac insider transaction filing
• Negative Sentiment: JPMorgan lowered its price target to $116 from $117 and retained a “neutral” rating, implying downside from the referenced trading level. JPMorgan analyst rating update
• Negative Sentiment: Dowling & Partners cut its fiscal 2026 earnings-per-share estimate to $7.00 from $7.05, adding pressure after Aflac’s latest quarter slightly missed consensus EPS expectations and revenue declined year over year. Aflac earnings information

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.