Vanguard Trims Aflac Stake to 8.07%, Holds 49.9M Shares
Ticker: AFL · Form: SC 13G/A · Filed: 2024-02-13T00:00:00.000Z
Sentiment: neutral
Topics: institutional-ownership, passive-investment, portfolio-rebalancing, amendment
TL;DR
**Vanguard cut its Aflac stake to 8.07%, holding 49.9M shares as of Dec 29, 2023.**
AI Summary
The Vanguard Group, a major investment firm, filed an amendment (SC 13G/A) on February 13, 2024, updating its ownership in Aflac Inc. As of December 29, 2023, Vanguard reported holding 49,949,380 shares of Aflac's Common Stock, representing 8.07% of the company. This is a slight decrease from their previous reported stake, indicating a minor adjustment in their passive investment in the insurance giant. This matters to investors because Vanguard is a significant institutional holder, and changes in their position, even small ones, can signal shifts in broad market sentiment or portfolio rebalancing for a widely held stock like Aflac.
Why It Matters
This filing shows a major institutional investor, The Vanguard Group, slightly reduced its passive stake in Aflac, which could reflect minor portfolio rebalancing rather than a strong bearish signal.
Risk Assessment
Risk Level: low — The change in ownership is minor and from a passive institutional investor, indicating low risk to the company's fundamentals or stock price.
Analyst Insight
A smart investor would view this as a routine portfolio adjustment by a large institutional investor rather than a strong buy or sell signal for Aflac. It reinforces that Aflac remains a widely held stock in broad market index funds.
Key Numbers
- 49,949,380 — shares beneficially owned (The Vanguard Group's total shares in Aflac Inc.)
- 8.07% — percentage of class (The Vanguard Group's ownership percentage of Aflac's Common Stock)
- 12 — amendment number (This is the 12th amendment to the Schedule 13G filing by Vanguard for Aflac.)
Key Players & Entities
- The Vanguard Group (company) — reporting person and institutional investor
- Aflac Inc. (company) — subject company, an accident & health insurance provider
- December 29, 2023 (date) — date of event requiring the filing
- February 13, 2024 (date) — filing date of the SC 13G/A amendment
- Pennsylvania (company) — place of organization for The Vanguard Group
Forward-Looking Statements
- Vanguard will continue to hold a significant, albeit passive, stake in Aflac, reflecting its broad market index strategies. (The Vanguard Group) — high confidence, target: 2025-12-31
- Aflac's stock price will not experience significant volatility directly due to this minor adjustment by Vanguard. (Aflac Inc.) — high confidence, target: 2024-03-31
FAQ
What is the primary purpose of this SC 13G/A filing?
This SC 13G/A filing is an amendment (Amendment No. 12) by The Vanguard Group to update its beneficial ownership of Aflac Inc. Common Stock, as required by Rule 13d-1(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
Who is the reporting person in this filing, and what is their IRS Identification Number?
The reporting person is The Vanguard Group, and their I.R.S. Identification Number is 23-1945930, as stated in Item 1 of the filing.
What was The Vanguard Group's beneficial ownership percentage of Aflac Inc. Common Stock as of the event date?
As of December 29, 2023, The Vanguard Group beneficially owned 8.07% of Aflac Inc.'s Common Stock, as indicated on the cover page and Item 9 of the filing.
How many shares of Aflac Inc. Common Stock does The Vanguard Group beneficially own, and what is their sole voting power?
The Vanguard Group beneficially owns 49,949,380 shares of Aflac Inc. Common Stock. They report having 0 shares with sole voting power, as per Item 5 of the filing.
When was the 'Date of Event Which Requires Filing of this Statement' for this amendment?
The 'Date of Event Which Requires Filing of this Statement' was December 29, 2023, as specified on the first page of the Schedule 13G/A.
From the Filing
0001104659-24-020192.txt : 20240213 0001104659-24-020192.hdr.sgml : 20240213 20240213165600 ACCESSION NUMBER: 0001104659-24-020192 CONFORMED SUBMISSION TYPE: SC 13G/A PUBLIC DOCUMENT COUNT: 1 FILED AS OF DATE: 20240213 DATE AS OF CHANGE: 20240213 SUBJECT COMPANY: COMPANY DATA: COMPANY CONFORMED NAME: AFLAC INC CENTRAL INDEX KEY: 0000004977 STANDARD INDUSTRIAL CLASSIFICATION: ACCIDENT & HEALTH INSURANCE [6321] ORGANIZATION NAME: 02 Finance IRS NUMBER: 581167100 STATE OF INCORPORATION: GA FISCAL YEAR END: 1231 FILING VALUES: FORM TYPE: SC 13G/A SEC ACT: 1934 Act SEC FILE NUMBER: 005-18808 FILM NUMBER: 24627254 BUSINESS ADDRESS: STREET 1: 1932 WYNNTON RD CITY: COLUMBUS STATE: GA ZIP: 31999 BUSINESS PHONE: 7063233431 MAIL ADDRESS: STREET 1: 1932 WYNNTON ROAD CITY: COLUMBUS STATE: GA ZIP: 31999 FORMER COMPANY: FORMER CONFORMED NAME: AMERICAN FAMILY CORP DATE OF NAME CHANGE: 19920306 FILED BY: COMPANY DATA: COMPANY CONFORMED NAME: VANGUARD GROUP INC CENTRAL INDEX KEY: 0000102909 ORGANIZATION NAME: IRS NUMBER: 231945930 STATE OF INCORPORATION: PA FISCAL YEAR END: 1231 FILING VALUES: FORM TYPE: SC 13G/A BUSINESS ADDRESS: STREET 1: PO BOX 2600 STREET 2: V26 CITY: VALLEY FORGE STATE: PA ZIP: 19482-2600 BUSINESS PHONE: 6106691000 MAIL ADDRESS: STREET 1: PO BOX 2600 STREET 2: V26 CITY: VALLEY FORGE STATE: PA ZIP: 19482-2600 SC 13G/A 1 tv0199-aflacinc.htm SCHEDULE 13G/A aflacinc SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 Schedule 13G Under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Amendment No.: 12)* Name of issuer:  Aflac Inc Title of Class of Securities:  Common Stock CUSIP Number:  001055102 Date of Event Which Requires Filing of this Statement: December 29, 2023 Check the appropriate box to designate the rule pursuant to which this Schedule is filed: ☒ Rule 13d-1(b) ☐ Rule 13d-1(c) ☐ Rule 13d-1(d) *The remainder of this cover page shall be filled out for a reporting person's initial filing on this form with respect to the subject class of securities, and for any subsequent amendment containing information which would alter the disclosures provided in a prior cover page. The information required in the remainder of this cover page shall not be deemed to be "filed" for the purpose of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ("Act") or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section of the Act but shall be subject to all other provisions of the Act (however, see the Notes). (Continued on the following page(s))     13G CUSIP No.:  001055102 1.  NAME OF REPORTING PERSON I.R.S. IDENTIFICATION NO. OF ABOVE PERSON The Vanguard Group - 23-1945930 2.  CHECK THE APPROPRIATE [LINE] IF A MEMBER OF A GROUP A.  B.  X 3.  SEC USE ONLY 4.  CITIZENSHIP OF PLACE OF ORGANIZATION Pennsylvania (For questions 5-8, report the number of shares beneficially owned by each reporting person with:) 5.  SOLE VOTING POWER 0 6.  SHARED VOTING POWER 713,090 7.  SOLE DISPOSITIVE POWER 49,977,494 8.  SHARED DISPOSITIVE POWER 2,461,347 9.  AGGREGATE AMOUNT BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY EACH REPORTING PERSON 52,438,841 10.  CHECK BOX IF THE AGGREGATE AMOUNT IN ROW (9) EXCLUDES CERTAIN SHARES N/A 11.  PERCENT OF CLASS REPRESENTED BY AMOUNT IN ROW 9 8.97% 12.  TYPE OF REPORTING PERSON IA     SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 Schedule 13G Under the Securities Act of 1934 Item 1(a) - Name of Issuer: Aflac Inc Item 1(b) - Address of Issuer's Principal Executive Offices: 1932 Wynnton Road Columbus, GA 31999 Item 2(a) - Name of Person Filing: The Vanguard Group - 23-1945930 Item 2(b) – Address of Principal Business Office or, if none, residence: 100 Vanguard Blvd. Malvern, PA 19355 Item 2(c) – Citizenship: Pennsylvania Item 2(d) - Title of Class of Securities: Common Stock Item 2(e) - CUSIP Number 001055102 Item 3 -