Commerce Bank Purchases Shares of 134,055 Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Commerce Bank purchased a new stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 134,055 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $15,718,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 2nd quarter worth $11,111,000. Evolve Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Aflac in the 2nd quarter valued at $207,000. Farringdon Capital Ltd. bought a new position in Aflac in the 2nd quarter worth $463,000. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co acquired a new position in Aflac during the 2nd quarter worth $14,257,000. Finally, Westpac Banking Corp acquired a new position in Aflac during the 2nd quarter worth $6,120,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 600 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.10, for a total transaction of $74,460.00. Following the sale, the director owned 32,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,059,311. This trade represents a 1.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 12,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.05, for a total value of $1,486,535.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 50,817,790 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,948,222,319.50. This represents a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 497,625 shares of company stock valued at $58,356,483 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AFL shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $99.00 price objective (up from $98.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Friday, August 7th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $124.00 target price (up from $114.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $138.00 price target (up from $130.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Aflac currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $116.62.

Aflac Stock Performance

NYSE:AFL opened at $116.12 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $121.55 and its 200-day moving average is $116.12. The company has a market cap of $58.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.45, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a current ratio of 0.12. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $104.66 and a 52-week 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). Aflac had a net margin of 26.91% and a return on equity of 13.27%. The company had revenue of $4.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.78 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be given a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.15%.

More Aflac News

Here are the key news stories impacting Aflac this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Aflac’s quarterly dividend is $0.61 per share, or $2.44 annualized, providing a yield of roughly 2.1%. The company has a long record of dividend growth and a relatively low payout ratio of about 26%, supporting its appeal as a defensive income stock.
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent earnings were mixed: quarterly revenue of $4.22 billion exceeded analyst expectations of $4.11 billion, but earnings per share of $1.75 narrowly missed the $1.76 consensus. Revenue declined 1% year over year and EPS fell from $1.78 in the prior-year quarter, limiting fundamental momentum.
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street’s overall view remains cautious, with a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target near $116.62. Some analysts remain constructive, including Piper Sandler with a $138 target, while others maintain neutral or underweight ratings.
• Negative Sentiment: Wolfe Research initiated coverage with an “underperform” rating and a $103 price target, implying meaningful downside from recent trading levels. The call adds to existing concerns from Barclays and JPMorgan, which also have cautious ratings or targets. Wolfe Research Starts Aflac at Underperform
• Negative Sentiment: Japan Post Holdings, Aflac’s major shareholder, sold another 12,700 shares on August 19 for approximately $1.49 million, following sales of 14,200 shares on August 18 and 13,900 shares on August 17. The transactions were conducted under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan and represent only a small reduction in its stake, but the repeated selling may weigh on investor sentiment. Aflac SEC Insider Filing

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.