Aflac Incorporated $AFL Shares Newly Purchased by First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. acquired a new position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 9,561 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,069,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AFL. Archer Investment Corp purchased a new stake in Aflac in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Groupe la Francaise bought a new stake in Aflac during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. bought a new stake in Aflac during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Aflac during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Finally, Washington Trust Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Aflac in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of Aflac stock opened at $118.07 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.19 billion, a PE ratio of 15.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.56. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $116.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $117.18. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $105.43 and a 12 month high of $130.22.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $4.11 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 26.91%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.78 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th were given a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 19th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.15%.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In other Aflac news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 42,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.38, for a total transaction of $4,887,960.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 50,302,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,854,256,157.20. This trade represents a 0.08% 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 545,051 shares of company stock worth $63,379,217 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Key Aflac News

Here are the key news stories impacting Aflac this week:

• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its price target on Aflac to $119 from $116 while maintaining a “neutral” rating. The increase reflects somewhat improved valuation support, although the target implies only limited upside from recent trading levels. JPMorgan Aflac Price Target Update
• Positive Sentiment: AM Best affirmed the credit ratings of Aflac and its subsidiaries, reinforcing confidence in the insurer’s financial strength and ability to meet policyholder obligations. This is supportive for a defensive insurer whose earnings depend partly on balance-sheet stability. AM Best Affirms Aflac Credit Ratings
• Neutral Sentiment: Bank of America lowered its Aflac price target to $133 but retained a “buy” rating. The higher target remains well above recent trading levels, but the reduction indicates some reassessment of near-term valuation or sector conditions. Bank of America Cuts Aflac Price Target
• Negative Sentiment: Japan Post Holdings continued selling Aflac shares, including transactions totaling 42,000 shares on October 13 and additional sales on October 9 and 12. Each sale represented only about 0.02%–0.08% of its large position and was conducted under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, limiting the immediate fundamental impact. However, the repeated disposals may weigh on sentiment and raise concerns about ongoing insider supply. Aflac Shareholder SEC Filing

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Raymond James Financial increased their price target on shares of Aflac from $119.00 to $123.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. Evercore lifted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $109.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $125.00 price objective (up from $124.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Aflac from $116.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $117.20.

Aflac Company Profile

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE: AFL) is an insurance company that provides supplemental health and life insurance products to individuals, employers and groups. Its coverage is designed to help policyholders manage expenses that may not be fully covered by major medical insurance, including costs associated with illness, injury and other qualifying events.

The company’s products include accident, cancer, critical illness, hospital indemnity, disability, dental, vision and life insurance. Aflac distributes its policies through workplace benefits programs, independent agents, brokers and other distribution channels.

Founded in 1955 as American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus, Aflac has its headquarters in Columbus, Georgia.