Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Position Decreased by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board decreased its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 62.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 84,147 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 138,994 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board’s holdings in Aflac were worth $7,515,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 80.0% during the 1st quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Cedar Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the first quarter worth about $50,000. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

AFL stock opened at $109.12 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $103.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $92.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.10 and a quick ratio of 0.10. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $74.89 and a fifty-two week high of $111.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.00 billion, a PE ratio of 12.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.95.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.23. Aflac had a net margin of 28.35% and a return on equity of 16.22%. The firm had revenue of $5.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.58 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.75 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 21st were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 21st. Aflac’s payout ratio is presently 22.08%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on AFL. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Aflac from $82.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays assumed coverage on Aflac in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $96.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Aflac from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 19th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Aflac from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Aflac from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $92.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.94, for a total transaction of $197,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,796,552.52. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Company 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.