KBC Group NV Has $10.41 Million Position in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

KBC Group NV cut its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 7.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 94,915 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,238 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Aflac were worth $10,413,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AFL. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Evergreen Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Navalign LLC acquired a new position in Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $130.00 price target (up from $125.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Aflac from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Aflac from $108.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $124.00 target price (up from $114.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Mizuho set a $112.00 price target on Aflac in a report on Thursday, July 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $116.17.

Aflac Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of Aflac stock opened at $123.67 on Thursday. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $96.95 and a 12-month high of $125.93. The company has a market cap of $62.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.04, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.61. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $118.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $114.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). The business had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.20 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 13.88% and a net margin of 25.60%.The company’s revenue was up 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.66 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.07 EPS 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 was Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Aflac’s payout ratio is currently 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.