Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Acquires 13,017 Shares of Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 31.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 55,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,017 shares during the quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in Aflac were worth $6,146,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 16.7% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,167,886 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $439,545,000 after purchasing an additional 594,971 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Aflac during the 2nd quarter worth $432,201,000. Guinness Asset Management LTD raised its position in Aflac by 19.4% during the 2nd quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 2,372,484 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $250,187,000 after purchasing an additional 385,546 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Aflac by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,703,397 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $178,056,000 after buying an additional 70,244 shares during the period. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its position in shares of Aflac by 26.2% in the 2nd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,654,802 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $174,515,000 after buying an additional 343,881 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In other Aflac news, EVP Frederic Jean Guy Simard sold 1,722 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total value of $193,725.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 1,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $153,450. This represents a 55.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.00, for a total value of $114,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 23,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,692,110. This trade represents a 4.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 31,766 shares of company stock worth $3,549,706 over the last three months. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of AFL opened at $109.27 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $57.27 billion, a PE ratio of 14.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.67. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $96.95 and a 52-week high of $115.83. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $110.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $107.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter. Aflac had a net margin of 23.55% and a return on equity of 14.97%. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. This is an increase from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 18th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Aflac from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, December 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Aflac from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $119.00 price objective (up from $110.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $110.67.

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.