Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 114,958 Shares of Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lowered its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 40.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 167,285 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 114,958 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $18,686,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in shares of Aflac by 1.1% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 5,307,681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $590,161,000 after buying an additional 56,776 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Aflac by 16.7% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,167,886 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $439,545,000 after acquiring an additional 594,971 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Aflac in the 2nd quarter valued at $432,201,000. Guinness Asset Management LTD lifted its stake in Aflac by 19.4% in the 2nd quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 2,372,484 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $250,187,000 after purchasing an additional 385,546 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Aflac by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,703,397 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $178,056,000 after purchasing an additional 70,244 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In related news, EVP Frederic Jean Guy Simard sold 1,722 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total value of $193,725.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 1,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $153,450. The trade was a 55.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 15,862 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.00, for a total value of $1,776,544.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 230,688 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,837,056. This represents a 6.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 31,766 shares of company stock valued at $3,549,706 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AFL. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Aflac from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Aflac from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Piper Sandler set a $125.00 price objective on Aflac and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Aflac from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Aflac in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $110.55.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of AFL stock opened at $110.25 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $109.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $106.82. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $96.95 and a 52-week high of $115.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.66.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter. Aflac had a return on equity of 14.97% and a net margin of 23.55%.The business had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 18th. This is a positive change from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.29%.

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.