Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Decreases Stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC reduced its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 59.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 27,047 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 40,238 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $2,322,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 74.0% in the 3rd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 18,635 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,430,000 after purchasing an additional 7,926 shares in the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC raised its stake in Aflac by 111.3% during the third quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 1,268 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $97,000 after acquiring an additional 668 shares during the period. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC raised its stake in Aflac by 78.7% during the third quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 25,945 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,991,000 after acquiring an additional 11,428 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its stake in Aflac by 1,899.4% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 64,422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,944,000 after acquiring an additional 61,200 shares during the period. Finally, Glenmede Trust Co. NA raised its stake in Aflac by 15.3% during the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 234,795 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,021,000 after acquiring an additional 31,226 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 22,378 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.47, for a total value of $1,957,403.66. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 61,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,381,329.34. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.84, for a total value of $50,904.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,550 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,337,342. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 22,378 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.47, for a total transaction of $1,957,403.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 61,522 shares in the company, valued at $5,381,329.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Aflac Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:AFL opened at $89.41 on Wednesday. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $69.00 and a 52 week high of $91.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.08. The company has a market cap of $50.80 billion, a PE ratio of 9.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.95. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $87.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $83.87.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.09 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 27.67% and a return on equity of 16.88%. The company’s revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.55 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. This is an increase from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on AFL shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Aflac from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Aflac from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $83.69.

Aflac Profile

Aflac Incorporated, through its subsidiaries, provides supplemental health and life insurance products. The company operates through Aflac Japan and Aflac U.S. segments. The Aflac Japan segment offers cancer, medical, nursing care, work leave, GIFT, and whole and term life insurance products, as well as WAYS and child endowment plans under saving type insurance products in Japan.