Aflac Incorporated $AFL Shares Acquired by Hsbc Holdings PLC

Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 5.8% during 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 buying an additional 58,018 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned approximately 0.21% of Aflac worth $117,186,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AFL. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its stake in Aflac by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 342,092 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,722,000 after acquiring an additional 3,736 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 59.8% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 6,298 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $694,000 after purchasing an additional 2,357 shares during the last quarter. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Aflac by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 543,892 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $60,032,000 after purchasing an additional 17,532 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Union Savings Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $187,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Aflac Stock Down 0.1%

AFL stock opened at $120.73 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $61.45 billion, a PE ratio of 13.70, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.61. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average price is $116.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $112.89. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $96.95 and a one year high of $120.88.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). The business had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.20 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 13.88% and a net margin of 25.60%.The company’s revenue was up 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.66 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.09 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AFL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Aflac from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Aflac from $116.00 to $111.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Aflac from $116.00 to $114.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Barclays set a $99.00 price target on shares of Aflac and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $112.27.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other Aflac news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 166,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.38, for a total transaction of $18,655,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 51,723,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,812,641,978. This trade represents a 0.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,042,771 shares of company stock worth $120,575,104. Corporate 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.