Assetmark Inc. Cuts Stake in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Assetmark Inc. cut its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 8.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 801,692 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 70,926 shares during the quarter. Assetmark Inc. owned approximately 0.16% of Aflac worth $87,954,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. DNB Asset Management AS boosted its position in Aflac by 51.3% during the fourth quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 168,003 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,526,000 after acquiring an additional 56,975 shares during the last quarter. BIP Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Aflac by 348.3% in the 4th quarter. BIP Wealth LLC now owns 55,723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,145,000 after acquiring an additional 43,293 shares during the last quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas purchased a new position in Aflac in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,743,000. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Aflac by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,866,471 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $206,712,000 after purchasing an additional 97,766 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dorato Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter worth approximately $20,865,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 63,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.12, for a total transaction of $7,441,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 51,169,435 shares in the company, valued at $6,044,133,662.20. This trade represents a 0.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 744,916 shares of company stock worth $87,118,632 in the last 90 days. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Aflac Stock Performance

NYSE AFL opened at $122.89 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $117.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $113.63. 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 $62.55 billion, a PE ratio of 13.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.61. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $96.95 and a twelve month high of $124.00.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.20 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 25.60% and a return on equity of 13.88%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.66 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were given a $0.61 dividend. 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 payout ratio is presently 27.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $130.00 price target (up from $125.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Aflac from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $108.00 target price (up from $100.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Mizuho set a $112.00 price target on shares of Aflac in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $124.00 price objective (up from $114.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $114.50.

Aflac 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.