Westpac Banking Corp Grows Stock Holdings in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Westpac Banking Corp grew its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 31.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 54,599 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,211 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Aflac were worth $5,990,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Aflac during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Evergreen Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Navalign LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore raised shares of Aflac from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective 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. Mizuho set a $112.00 price objective on shares of Aflac in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Aflac from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $115.50.

Aflac Stock Down 0.6%

NYSE:AFL opened at $123.34 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $118.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $113.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $96.95 and a fifty-two week high of $125.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.61.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.05). Aflac had a return on equity of 13.88% and a net margin of 25.60%.The firm had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.66 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were given a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 27,845 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.71, for a total value of $3,249,789.95. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 50,898,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,940,362,767.90. This trade represents a 0.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 12,370 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director directly owned 33,310 shares in the company, valued at $3,881,947.40. This represents a 27.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 744,916 shares of company stock valued at $87,118,632. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Aflac 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.