Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Acquires New Shares in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. bought a new stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 56,546 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $6,630,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 57,142,072 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,301,056,000 after acquiring an additional 6,759,169 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Aflac during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,093,787,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Aflac by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,550,855 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $499,216,000 after purchasing an additional 67,650 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $420,078,000. Finally, Amundi lifted its stake in Aflac by 22.6% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 3,268,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $358,555,000 after purchasing an additional 603,426 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about 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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $99.00 target price (up from $98.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen cut Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 15th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $122.00 price objective on Aflac and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Aflac from $117.00 to $116.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Mizuho set a $116.00 target price on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, August 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $116.62.

Aflac Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of AFL opened at $116.12 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $121.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $116.15. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $104.66 and a 12 month high of $130.22. The company has a market capitalization of $58.22 billion, a PE 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 (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $4.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.11 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 26.91%.Aflac’s revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.78 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.04 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be given a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Aflac’s payout ratio is 26.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 12,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.05, for a total value of $1,486,535.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 50,817,790 shares in the company, valued at $5,948,222,319.50. The trade was a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.10, for a total value of $74,460.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 32,710 shares in the company, valued at $4,059,311. This represents a 1.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 497,625 shares of company stock worth $58,356,483. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

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.