16,867 Shares in Aflac Incorporated $AFL Acquired by Osmosis Investment Management UK Ltd

Osmosis Investment Management UK Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 16,867 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,978,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in AFL. Stephens Inc. AR raised its stake in Aflac by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 21,945 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,420,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. Compound Planning Inc. boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 0.7% in the first quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 13,743 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,508,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $234,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 19,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,105,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HBK Sorce Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Aflac by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 7,702 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $902,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Aflac news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.10, for a total value of $74,460.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 32,710 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,059,311. The trade was a 1.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, 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 13,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.60, for a total transaction of $1,527,460.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 50,804,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,923,826,854. The trade was a 0.03% 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 492,725 shares of company stock valued at $57,777,403. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Trading Up 1.8%

AFL stock opened at $118.19 on Tuesday. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $104.66 and a twelve month high of $130.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $121.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $116.19.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $4.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.11 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 26.91% and a return on equity of 13.27%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.78 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AFL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $138.00 price target (up from $130.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, August 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Aflac from $117.00 to $116.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. UBS Group reissued 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $108.00 target price (up from $100.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $116.62.

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.