Fisher Asset Management LLC Has $1.34 Million Stock Position in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 76.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,175 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,262 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $1,343,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Stephens Inc. AR raised its holdings in shares of Aflac by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 21,945 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,420,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co raised its holdings in shares of Aflac by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 19,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,105,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Aflac by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 7,702 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $902,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Aflac by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 11,923 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,315,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sigma Planning Corp lifted its position in Aflac by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 9,831 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,088,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Aflac news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 11,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.50, for a total value of $1,316,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 51,302,145 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,925,397,747.50. This represents a 0.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Steven Kent Beaver sold 5,508 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.81, for a total transaction of $648,897.48. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 40,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,775,663.97. The trade was a 11.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 910,436 shares of company stock valued at $103,126,371. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Key Aflac News

Here are the key news stories impacting Aflac this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Aflac issued yen-denominated senior notes, which should improve financial flexibility and support capital management. Aflac Issues Yen-Denominated Senior Notes for Flexibility
• Positive Sentiment: Recent analyst estimates remain slightly above current consensus, with DOWLING & PARTN projecting modest earnings growth into FY2027 and FY2028, suggesting longer-term earnings momentum. Aflac analyst estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: Several insider sales by Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan were disclosed, but they were pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 transactions and represent only small reductions in ownership. Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan Sells 31,100 Shares of Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: EVP Steven Kent Beaver also sold shares in a disclosed transaction, which may weigh on sentiment but does not appear to signal a fundamental change. Steven Kent Beaver Sells 5,508 Shares of Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Aflac’s last quarterly report missed EPS expectations, and some analysts have trimmed or only maintained cautious ratings, limiting upside enthusiasm. Aflac earnings and analyst coverage

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AFL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $130.00 price objective (up from $125.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Tuesday. Evercore upgraded Aflac from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Barclays set a $99.00 target price on Aflac and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Aflac from $116.00 to $114.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Aflac from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $112.27.

Aflac Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of AFL stock opened at $112.37 on Friday. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $96.95 and a 52-week high of $119.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $113.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $111.78. The company has a market capitalization of $57.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.76, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.62.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 13.88% and a net margin of 25.60%.The firm had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.66 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th will be given a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 20th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.70%.

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.