California Public Employees Retirement System Has $109.60 Million Stock Holdings in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

California Public Employees Retirement System decreased its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 12.5% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 999,037 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 142,797 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Aflac were worth $109,604,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AFL. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake 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 valued at $6,301,056,000 after acquiring an additional 6,759,169 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Aflac during the fourth quarter worth about $420,078,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Aflac by 1,184.5% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,264,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $141,199,000 after acquiring an additional 1,165,676 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in Aflac by 390.7% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,111,711 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $122,588,000 after purchasing an additional 885,141 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Aflac by 132.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,227,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $137,078,000 after purchasing an additional 699,080 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of Aflac stock opened at $124.79 on Friday. 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 Incorporated has a 12-month low of $96.95 and a 12-month high of $125.93. The company has a market capitalization of $63.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.16, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.61. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $117.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $113.71.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its 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 firm had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.66 earnings per share. Aflac’s quarterly revenue was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 20th were paid a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 20th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Aflac news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 63,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.12, for a total transaction of $7,441,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 51,169,435 shares in the company, valued at $6,044,133,662.20. This represents a 0.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 744,916 shares of company stock worth $87,118,632 in the last three months. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $130.00 target price (up from $125.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Aflac from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $124.00 price target (up from $114.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Barclays reduced their price target on Aflac from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Aflac from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Aflac presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $114.50.

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.