Hsbc Holdings PLC Has $117.19 Million Stock Holdings in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 5.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,061,308 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 58,018 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned about 0.21% of Aflac worth $117,186,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bayban purchased a new position in Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at about $49,000. Pure Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 10,790 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,190,000 after buying an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. SHP Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Reflection Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Finally, MidFirst Bank bought a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $280,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of AFL stock opened at $115.50 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $115.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $112.21. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $96.95 and a twelve month 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 market capitalization of $58.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.11, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.61.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced 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 return on equity of 13.88% and a net margin of 25.60%.The company had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.66 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.08 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.39, for a total transaction of $3,521,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 50,955,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,981,717,209.65. This represents a 0.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,026,856 shares of company stock worth $118,318,678. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on AFL. Mizuho set a $104.00 price objective on Aflac in a report on Monday, May 4th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Aflac from $116.00 to $111.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Aflac from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective (up from $125.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Two investment 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 issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently 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.