Royal Bank of Canada Boosts Stake in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 18.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,025,765 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 158,350 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada’s holdings in Aflac were worth $112,536,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. DNB Asset Management AS boosted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 56,975 shares during the period. BIP Wealth LLC increased its stake 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 buying an additional 43,293 shares during the period. Employees Retirement System of Texas purchased a new stake in Aflac in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,743,000. Dorato Capital Management purchased a new stake in Aflac in the 4th quarter worth approximately $20,865,000. Finally, Atlas Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 1st quarter valued at $1,802,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aflac Stock Performance

AFL stock opened at $127.35 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $119.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $114.71. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $96.95 and a 12 month high of $130.22. The company has a market capitalization of $64.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 business 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 business posted $1.66 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Aflac news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 27,845 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.71, for a total transaction of $3,249,789.95. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 50,898,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,940,362,767.90. This represents a 0.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 12,370 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.54, for a total value of $1,441,599.80. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 33,310 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,881,947.40. This represents a 27.08% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 744,916 shares of company stock valued at $87,118,632 over the last quarter. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on AFL. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Weiss Ratings raised Aflac from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 target price (up from $101.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group restated 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Aflac from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Aflac presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $116.17.

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.