KBC Group NV Sells 7,238 Shares of Aflac Incorporated $AFL

KBC Group NV reduced its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 7.1% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 94,915 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,238 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Aflac were worth $10,413,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Aflac by 64.4% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,570 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,507,000 after acquiring an additional 5,708 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,402 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $455,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Aflac during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $280,000. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in shares of Aflac by 11.2% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 150,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $15,854,000 after purchasing an additional 15,105 shares during the period. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC lifted its stake in shares of Aflac by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 11,953 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,261,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $123.67 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $62.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.04, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $96.95 and a 12-month high of $125.93. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $118.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $114.01.

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

Aflac Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $130.00 target price (up from $125.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Mizuho set a $112.00 price target on shares of Aflac in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $124.00 price objective (up from $114.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on Aflac from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Aflac currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $116.17.

Insider Activity at Aflac

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

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.