Principal Financial Group Inc. Trims Stock Position in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 551,105 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 15,121 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $61,558,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AFL. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Aflac by 1,526.7% in the second quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the second quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Hilltop National Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the second quarter valued at $32,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on AFL shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Aflac in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Aflac from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Piper Sandler set a $125.00 target price on shares of Aflac and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $120.00 target price on shares of Aflac in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $110.64.

Aflac Stock Performance

NYSE:AFL opened at $112.08 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $58.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.63, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.67. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $109.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $108.44. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $96.95 and a fifty-two week high of $115.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.72. The business had revenue of $4.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.36 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 14.97% and a net margin of 23.55%.The company’s revenue was up 59.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.16 EPS. Analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th will be paid 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 yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 18th. Aflac’s payout ratio is presently 30.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other news, EVP Steven Kent Beaver sold 5,492 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.53, for a total value of $601,538.76. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 38,368 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,202,447.04. This trade represents a 12.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 786 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.75, for a total transaction of $89,407.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 24,829 shares in the company, valued at $2,824,298.75. The trade was a 3.07% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 31,766 shares of company stock worth $3,549,706 over the last three months. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Aflac

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.