Wellington Management Group LLP Purchases 51,283 Shares of Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 71.8% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 122,662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 51,283 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP’s holdings in Aflac were worth $14,382,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 2nd quarter valued at $4,093,787,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter worth $420,078,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in Aflac in the second quarter valued at about $404,639,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Aflac during the second quarter worth about $298,418,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Aflac during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $244,516,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Aflac Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:AFL opened at $117.09 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $121.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $116.29. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $104.66 and a one year high of $130.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.12 and a quick ratio of 0.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.70 billion, a PE ratio of 12.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.59.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.76 by ($0.01). Aflac had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 26.91%.The company had revenue of $4.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.78 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 19th were paid a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on AFL. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $99.00 target price (up from $98.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Friday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $108.00 target price (up from $100.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Friday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $122.00 price target on Aflac and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $138.00 price objective (up from $130.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $103.00 target price on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $116.62.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Aflac news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 53,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.74, for a total value of $6,240,220.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 51,014,735 shares in the company, valued at $6,006,474,898.90. This trade represents a 0.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 455,215 shares of company stock worth $53,513,586 in the last 90 days. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.