Man Group plc Invests $2.81 Million in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Man Group plc acquired a new stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 23,922 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,805,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Groupe la Francaise bought a new stake in Aflac during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. bought a new stake in Aflac during the second quarter valued at $27,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in Aflac in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Finally, Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC bought a new position in Aflac in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE AFL opened at $116.02 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $121.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $116.23. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $104.66 and a twelve month high of $130.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market capitalization of $58.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.44, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.60.

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

Aflac Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Aflac news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 63,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.12, for a total transaction of $7,441,560.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 51,169,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,044,133,662.20. This trade represents a 0.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 509,215 shares of company stock worth $59,871,461 in the last quarter. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AFL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 price target (up from $101.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $124.00 target price (up from $114.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Aflac from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, Mizuho set a $116.00 target price on shares of Aflac in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Two 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 issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $116.62.

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.