Erste Asset Management GmbH Reduces Holdings in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Erste Asset Management GmbH reduced its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 20.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 23,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,934 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in Aflac were worth $2,544,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position 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 valued at $6,301,056,000 after acquiring an additional 6,759,169 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Aflac by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,414,180 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $493,047,000 after acquiring an additional 310,220 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in Aflac by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,926,777 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $438,621,000 after acquiring an additional 13,666 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at about $420,078,000. Finally, Amundi lifted its position in Aflac by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 2,631,876 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $297,583,000 after acquiring an additional 261,547 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aflac Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of Aflac stock opened at $115.40 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $58.74 billion, a PE ratio of 13.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.61. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $96.95 and a 52-week high of $119.81. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $114.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $111.87.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.05). Aflac had a return on equity of 13.88% and a net margin of 25.60%.The company had revenue of $4.24 billion during 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. The business’s revenue was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were paid a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Aflac’s payout ratio is currently 27.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Aflac from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Mizuho set a $104.00 price target on shares of Aflac in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $130.00 target price (up from $125.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $112.27.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In related news, EVP Steven Kent Beaver sold 5,508 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.81, for a total transaction of $648,897.48. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 40,537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,775,663.97. The trade was a 11.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 63,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.12, for a total transaction of $7,441,560.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 51,169,435 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,044,133,662.20. The trade was a 0.12% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 918,456 shares of company stock valued at $104,689,311 over the last 90 days. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.