Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co Increases Stock Position in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co boosted its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 10.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 124,191 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,000 shares during the period. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Aflac were worth $13,695,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in Aflac by 188.5% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 225 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Activest Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 95.6% in the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 311 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 324 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter worth $44,000. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 166,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.38, for a total transaction of $18,655,080.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 51,723,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,812,641,978. The trade was a 0.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 572,632 shares of company stock worth $63,514,634 in the last quarter. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AFL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Aflac from $118.00 to $116.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Aflac from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday. Mizuho set a $104.00 price target on Aflac in a research note on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Aflac from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $111.82.

Aflac Price Performance

NYSE AFL opened at $113.33 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $58.38 billion, a PE ratio of 12.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11. The business’s fifty day moving average is $111.37 and its 200 day moving average is $110.84. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $96.95 and a fifty-two week high of $119.32.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $4.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.20 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 25.60% and a return on equity of 13.88%. Aflac’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.66 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 20th will be given a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Aflac’s payout ratio is 27.70%.

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.