OP Asset Management Ltd Makes New $5.73 Million Investment in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

OP Asset Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 52,244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,732,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AFL. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Aflac in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC purchased a new position in Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Navalign LLC purchased a new position in Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 95.6% during the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 311 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on AFL shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Aflac from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $116.00 to $114.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Aflac from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Monday, June 15th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Mizuho set a $104.00 target price on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, May 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $112.27.

Aflac Stock Up 1.5%

Aflac stock opened at $120.04 on Friday. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $96.95 and a 12 month high of $120.27. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $115.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $112.50. 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 has a market cap of $61.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.63, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.61.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced 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). Aflac had a net margin of 25.60% and a return on equity of 13.88%. The business had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.66 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders 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 currently 27.70%.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 12,370 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.54, for a total value of $1,441,599.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 33,310 shares in the company, valued at $3,881,947.40. The trade was a 27.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 27,845 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.71, for a total transaction of $3,249,789.95. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 50,898,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,940,362,767.90. The trade was a 0.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,082,471 shares of company stock worth $124,943,184. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

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.