CI Investments Inc. Buys 6,264 Shares of Aflac Incorporated $AFL

CI Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 12.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 57,821 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,264 shares during the quarter. CI Investments Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $6,344,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Aflac by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 57,142,072 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,301,056,000 after acquiring an additional 6,759,169 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter worth about $420,078,000. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in Aflac by 161.9% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,184,801 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $349,405,000 after buying an additional 1,968,738 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Aflac by 1,184.5% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,264,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $141,199,000 after purchasing an additional 1,165,676 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 390.7% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,111,711 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $122,588,000 after buying an additional 885,141 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AFL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Aflac from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $130.00 price objective (up from $125.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Aflac from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 price target (up from $101.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $116.17.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In related news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 63,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.12, for a total value of $7,441,560.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 51,169,435 shares of the company’s stock, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 744,916 shares of company stock worth $87,118,632 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of Aflac stock opened at $124.36 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $63.30 billion, a PE ratio of 14.12, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $96.95 and a 1 year high of $125.93. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $118.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $114.11.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.66 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 20th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is 27.70%.

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.