Aflac Incorporated $AFL Position Raised by Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund lifted its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 87.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 172,024 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 80,350 shares during the quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Aflac were worth $18,873,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Aflac in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Navalign LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management raised its holdings in Aflac by 95.6% in the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 311 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Aflac Price Performance

AFL opened at $120.73 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $116.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $112.89. The company has a market cap of $61.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.61. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $96.95 and a 12-month high of $120.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly 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). The firm had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.20 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 25.60% and a return on equity of 13.88%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.66 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 20th were paid a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AFL. Mizuho set a $104.00 target price on Aflac in a report on Monday, May 4th. Barclays set a $99.00 target price on Aflac and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen raised Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Aflac from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Monday, June 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Aflac from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $112.27.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In other Aflac news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 27,845 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.71, for a total transaction of $3,249,789.95. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 50,898,490 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,940,362,767.90. The trade was a 0.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 12,370 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.54, for a total value of $1,441,599.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 33,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,881,947.40. The trade was a 27.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,042,771 shares of company stock worth $120,575,104. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

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.