Fifth Third Bancorp Has $15.60 Million Stock Position in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 135.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 142,180 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 81,803 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Aflac were worth $15,599,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AFL. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC acquired a new position in Aflac in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Navalign LLC acquired a new position in Aflac in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Aflac during the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Aflac Stock Performance

NYSE:AFL opened at $122.14 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.17 billion, a PE ratio of 13.86, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.61. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $96.95 and a 1 year high of $124.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $117.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $113.47.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.20 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 25.60% and a return on equity of 13.88%. The firm’s revenue was up 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.66 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.08 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Aflac news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 12,370 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $3,881,947.40. The trade was a 27.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 27,845 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider owned 50,898,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,940,362,767.90. This trade represents a 0.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 744,916 shares of company stock worth $87,118,632 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Aflac from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Aflac from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Aflac from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective (up from $125.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Evercore upgraded shares of Aflac from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $114.50.

Aflac Company 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.