QRG Capital Management Inc. Increases Stake in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 5.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 95,778 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,670 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $10,508,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. DNB Asset Management AS raised its position in Aflac by 51.3% in the 4th quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 168,003 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,526,000 after purchasing an additional 56,975 shares in the last quarter. BIP Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Aflac by 348.3% during the fourth quarter. BIP Wealth LLC now owns 55,723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,145,000 after buying an additional 43,293 shares in the last quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,743,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,866,471 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $206,712,000 after buying an additional 97,766 shares during the period. Finally, Dorato Capital Management acquired a new stake in Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $20,865,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AFL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Mizuho set a $104.00 price objective on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, May 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Piper Sandler reiterated 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Aflac from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $112.27.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In related news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 166,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.38, for a total transaction of $18,655,080.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 51,723,100 shares in the company, valued at $5,812,641,978. This trade represents a 0.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,042,771 shares of company stock valued at $120,575,104. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Price Performance

AFL stock opened at $120.73 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $116.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $112.89. The stock has a market cap of $61.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.70, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.61. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $96.95 and a fifty-two week high of $120.88. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.66 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were issued a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.