Bank of Nova Scotia Trims Stake in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Bank of Nova Scotia reduced its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 12.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 71,165 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 10,144 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in Aflac were worth $7,808,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Stephens Inc. AR grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 21,945 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,420,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $234,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co grew its holdings in Aflac by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 19,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,105,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 7,702 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $902,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Confluence Wealth Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 11,923 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,315,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

NYSE:AFL opened at $125.61 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $118.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $114.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11. The firm has a market cap of $63.93 billion, a PE ratio of 14.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.61. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $96.95 and a 1-year high of $125.93.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.05). Aflac had a return on equity of 13.88% and a net margin of 25.60%.The firm had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.66 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.06 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on AFL shares. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $130.00 price objective (up from $125.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Aflac from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $124.00 price target (up from $114.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Aflac from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $108.00 price objective (up from $100.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $116.17.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In related news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 12,370 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the director owned 33,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,881,947.40. This represents a 27.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 27,845 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.71, for a total transaction of $3,249,789.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 50,898,490 shares in the company, valued at $5,940,362,767.90. This represents a 0.05% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 744,916 shares of company stock worth $87,118,632 in the last 90 days. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.