Candriam S.C.A. Has $4.16 Million Stock Holdings in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Candriam S.C.A. reduced its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 39,409 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,734 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $4,156,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,070,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 1st quarter valued at $551,000. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 140,874 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,857,000 after purchasing an additional 6,400 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Aflac by 8.2% during the 2nd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,652,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $174,273,000 after buying an additional 124,706 shares in the last quarter. Finally, S&CO Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Aflac by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. S&CO Inc. now owns 84,270 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,887,000 after buying an additional 1,100 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.00, for a total value of $114,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 23,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,692,110. This trade represents a 4.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Frederic Jean Guy Simard sold 1,722 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total value of $193,725.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 1,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $153,450. The trade was a 55.80% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AFL opened at $114.27 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $96.95 and a 52 week high of $115.84. The firm has a market cap of $59.89 billion, a PE ratio of 25.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.83. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $109.71 and its 200-day moving average is $105.93.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Aflac had a return on equity of 15.08% and a net margin of 15.32%.The company had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter. Sell-side analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, August 12th that allows the company to repurchase 100,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th will be given a $0.61 dividend. This is an increase from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AFL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Aflac from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Aflac from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Aflac in a research note on Thursday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $110.50.

Aflac Company Profile

Aflac Incorporated, through its subsidiaries, provides supplemental health and life insurance products. The company operates through Aflac Japan and Aflac U.S. segments. The Aflac Japan segment offers cancer, medical, nursing care, work leave, GIFT, and whole and term life insurance products, as well as WAYS and child endowment plans under saving type insurance products in Japan.