Haverford Trust Co Invests $721,000 in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Haverford Trust Co purchased a new position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 6,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $721,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AFL. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Groupe la Francaise bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Finally, Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Aflac

Here are the key news stories impacting Aflac this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Aflac’s quarterly dividend is $0.61 per share, or $2.44 annualized, providing a yield of roughly 2.1%. The company has a long record of dividend growth and a relatively low payout ratio of about 26%, supporting its appeal as a defensive income stock.
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent earnings were mixed: quarterly revenue of $4.22 billion exceeded analyst expectations of $4.11 billion, but earnings per share of $1.75 narrowly missed the $1.76 consensus. Revenue declined 1% year over year and EPS fell from $1.78 in the prior-year quarter, limiting fundamental momentum.
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street’s overall view remains cautious, with a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target near $116.62. Some analysts remain constructive, including Piper Sandler with a $138 target, while others maintain neutral or underweight ratings.
• Negative Sentiment: Wolfe Research initiated coverage with an “underperform” rating and a $103 price target, implying meaningful downside from recent trading levels. The call adds to existing concerns from Barclays and JPMorgan, which also have cautious ratings or targets. Wolfe Research Starts Aflac at Underperform
• Negative Sentiment: Japan Post Holdings, Aflac’s major shareholder, sold another 12,700 shares on August 19 for approximately $1.49 million, following sales of 14,200 shares on August 18 and 13,900 shares on August 17. The transactions were conducted under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan and represent only a small reduction in its stake, but the repeated selling may weigh on investor sentiment. Aflac SEC Insider Filing

Aflac Price Performance

AFL opened at $116.12 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.45, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $104.66 and a 12-month high of $130.22. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $121.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $116.12.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.76 by ($0.01). Aflac had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 26.91%.The firm had revenue of $4.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.11 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.78 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Aflac news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 63,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.12, for a total value of $7,441,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 51,169,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,044,133,662.20. The trade was a 0.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 497,625 shares of company stock valued at $58,356,483. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on AFL shares. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $99.00 target price (up from $98.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Friday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Aflac from $117.00 to $116.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 price target (up from $101.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $138.00 price objective (up from $130.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, August 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Aflac currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $116.62.

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.