Aflac Incorporated $AFL Shares Sold by Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. cut its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 62.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 32,260 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 52,603 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $3,557,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Aflac by 13.4% during 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 last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Aflac by 1,184.5% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,264,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $141,199,000 after acquiring an additional 1,165,676 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Aflac by 132.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,227,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $137,078,000 after acquiring an additional 699,080 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its stake in Aflac by 180.5% during the third quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 252,457 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,320,000 after acquiring an additional 565,884 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP increased its stake in Aflac by 402.9% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 653,853 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $73,035,000 after acquiring an additional 523,845 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Aflac Price Performance

AFL stock opened at $117.78 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $96.95 and a 1 year high of $119.81. The firm has a market cap of $59.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.62. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $112.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $111.68.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted 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 company had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.66 EPS. Aflac’s quarterly revenue was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 20th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other Aflac news, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 2,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.55, for a total transaction of $268,065.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 6,186 shares in the company, valued at $720,978.30. This trade represents a 27.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 31,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.66, for a total value of $3,718,056.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 51,393,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,046,905,674.70. This trade represents a 0.06% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 814,028 shares of company stock worth $91,815,931 in the last 90 days. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AFL shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded Aflac from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Mizuho set a $104.00 target price on Aflac in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Evercore upgraded Aflac from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Aflac from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $111.82.

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.