International Assets Investment Management LLC Buys 6,535 Shares of Aflac Incorporated $AFL

International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 182.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,116 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,535 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $1,131,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Aflac in the second quarter valued at about $4,093,787,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Aflac by 27.8% during the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,201,217 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $609,843,000 after buying an additional 1,132,091 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Aflac by 1.5% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,550,855 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $499,216,000 after buying an additional 67,650 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in Aflac during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $404,639,000. Finally, Amundi lifted its holdings in Aflac by 22.6% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 3,268,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $358,555,000 after buying an additional 603,426 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AFL has been the subject of several research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. Bank of America dropped their price target on Aflac from $137.00 to $133.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 12th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $125.00 price objective (up from $124.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $103.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $138.00 price objective (up from $130.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, August 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $117.20.

Key Headlines Impacting Aflac

Here are the key news stories impacting Aflac this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Aflac reported adjusted EPS of $2.43, above analysts’ consensus of about $1.80. That beat is the clearest favorable signal in the earnings reports. Aflac Q3 earnings report
• Neutral Sentiment: The company declared a fourth-quarter dividend, providing a shareholder-return update; the announcement provided here does not specify the dividend amount. Aflac third-quarter results and dividend announcement
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue was $3.27 billion, missing the approximately $4.12 billion estimate and declining 31% year over year. This substantial top-line shortfall tempers the earnings beat. Aflac Q3 revenue report
• Negative Sentiment: Aflac also reported net earnings of $303 million, or $0.61 per diluted share, amid portfolio repositioning. The gap between this reported result and adjusted EPS is important for investors assessing underlying performance. Aflac earnings and portfolio repositioning

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AFL opened at $125.29 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $62.81 billion, a PE ratio of 13.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.55. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $105.76 and a fifty-two week high of $130.22. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $117.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $116.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.63. Aflac had a net margin of 26.91% and a return on equity of 13.27%. The firm had revenue of $3.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.49 earnings per share. Aflac’s revenue was down 31.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.04 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 18th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is 26.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In related news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 113,611 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.53, for a total value of $13,466,311.83. Following the sale, the insider owned 50,134,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,942,422,016.37. This trade represents a 0.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 713,662 shares of company stock worth $83,323,978. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Aflac

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) is an insurance company specializing in supplemental health and life insurance. Through its policies, the company helps individuals and families manage expenses that may not be fully covered by major medical insurance, including deductibles, copayments and other out-of-pocket costs.

Aflac offers products such as accident, cancer, critical illness, hospital indemnity, dental and vision, disability, life and long-term care insurance. Many of its supplemental policies provide cash benefits directly to policyholders, who can generally use the funds according to their individual needs.