Texas Permanent School Fund Corp Has $9.34 Million Stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Texas Permanent School Fund Corp trimmed its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 0.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 108,825 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 982 shares during the period. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp’s holdings in Aflac were worth $9,344,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new position in Aflac during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. increased its holdings in Aflac by 80.0% during the first quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Aflac during the first quarter worth $29,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Piper Sandler upped 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. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $85.15.

Aflac Price Performance

AFL traded up $2.21 on Thursday, hitting $92.42. 2,107,240 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,217,804. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $69.00 and a 12 month high of $92.54. The business has a 50-day moving average of $87.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $84.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.08 and a quick ratio of 0.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.20, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.95.

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

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 22nd were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. This is a boost from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is 22.08%.

Insider Activity at Aflac

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

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.