Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Has $34.92 Million Stake in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC decreased its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 316,704 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,072 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $34,923,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AFL. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of Aflac by 64.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,570 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,507,000 after purchasing an additional 5,708 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Aflac by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,402 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $455,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the second quarter valued at approximately $280,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its position in shares of Aflac by 11.2% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 150,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $15,854,000 after purchasing an additional 15,105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC grew its position in shares of Aflac by 1.6% in the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 11,953 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,261,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of AFL stock opened at $115.25 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock has a market cap of $58.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.61. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $114.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $111.83. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $96.95 and a 1 year high of $119.81.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.05). Aflac had a return on equity of 13.88% and a net margin of 25.60%.The business had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.66 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were paid a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other Aflac news, EVP Steven Kent Beaver sold 5,508 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $4,775,663.97. This represents a 11.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 16,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.19, for a total value of $1,877,597.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 51,232,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,901,464,187.65. The trade was a 0.03% 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 have sold 889,146 shares of company stock valued at $100,944,053 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Aflac from $116.00 to $111.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $130.00 price target (up from $125.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Barclays set a $99.00 price target on Aflac and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings cut Aflac from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Aflac from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $112.27.

Aflac Company 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.