Aflac Incorporated $AFL Shares Purchased by Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 42.9% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 846,186 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 254,010 shares during the quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership’s holdings in Aflac were worth $92,835,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Aflac by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 57,142,072 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,301,056,000 after acquiring an additional 6,759,169 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at $420,078,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Aflac by 161.9% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,184,801 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $349,405,000 after purchasing an additional 1,968,738 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,165,676 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 390.7% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,111,711 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $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.

Aflac Trading Up 1.0%

NYSE:AFL opened at $125.61 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $63.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.26, a PEG ratio of 1.94 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. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $96.95 and a 1 year high of $125.93. The business has a fifty day moving average of $118.64 and a 200-day moving average of $114.19.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.05). Aflac had a net margin of 25.60% and a return on equity of 13.88%. The company had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.66 earnings per share. Aflac’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on AFL shares. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Aflac from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 target price (up from $101.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $108.00 price objective (up from $100.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $130.00 target price (up from $125.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $116.17.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 27,845 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.71, for a total value of $3,249,789.95. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 50,898,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,940,362,767.90. This represents a 0.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 12,370 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.54, for a total transaction of $1,441,599.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 33,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,881,947.40. This represents a 27.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 744,916 shares of company stock worth $87,118,632 over the last 90 days. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.