Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Purchases Shares of 1,242,427 Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,242,427 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $145,675,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned about 0.24% of Aflac as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AFL. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Aflac by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 57,142,072 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,301,056,000 after acquiring an additional 6,759,169 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,550,855 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $499,216,000 after purchasing an additional 67,650 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter worth approximately $420,078,000. Amundi increased its position in shares of Aflac by 22.6% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 3,268,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $358,555,000 after purchasing an additional 603,426 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 161.9% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,184,801 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $349,405,000 after purchasing an additional 1,968,738 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Aflac news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 14,100 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.43, for a total value of $1,712,163.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 50,858,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,175,758,583.70. The trade was a 0.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.10, for a total value of $74,460.00. Following the sale, the director owned 32,710 shares in the company, valued at $4,059,311. The trade was a 1.80% decrease in their position. 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 have sold a total of 523,833 shares of company stock valued at $61,339,113 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on AFL shares. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $124.00 price target (up from $114.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 target price (up from $101.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Aflac from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Aflac from $117.00 to $116.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $117.58.

Aflac Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of AFL stock opened at $121.74 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $61.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.60. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $104.66 and a 12-month high of $130.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $121.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $116.04.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.76 by ($0.01). Aflac had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 26.91%.The firm had revenue of $4.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.78 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 19th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.15%.

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.