Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Shares Sold by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund cut its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL – Get Rating) by 2.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 838,055 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 23,439 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.13% of Aflac worth $47,099,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its stake in Aflac by 0.6% during the second quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 16,300,968 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $901,933,000 after buying an additional 89,414 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in Aflac by 3.5% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,755,915 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $318,476,000 after buying an additional 192,480 shares in the last quarter. Maj Invest Holding A S lifted its stake in Aflac by 16.5% during the third quarter. Maj Invest Holding A S now owns 5,061,371 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $325,902,000 after buying an additional 715,304 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Aflac by 62.4% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,936,608 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $317,865,000 after buying an additional 1,897,212 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Aflac by 2.3% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,286,052 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $211,590,000 after buying an additional 72,705 shares in the last quarter. 66.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aflac Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of AFL stock opened at $73.28 on Thursday. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $52.07 and a 12 month high of $74.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 0.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The business’s 50 day moving average is $71.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $64.95. The company has a market cap of $45.56 billion, a PE ratio of 9.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.92.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.01. Aflac had a return on equity of 12.53% and a net margin of 24.16%. The company had revenue of $4.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.53 earnings per share. Aflac’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 5.25 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 14th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.29%. This is an increase from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Aflac’s payout ratio is currently 20.41%.

Aflac announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, November 8th that permits the company to buyback 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on AFL shares. Citigroup upped their target price on Aflac from $61.00 to $70.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 16th. StockNews.com started coverage on Aflac in a report on Wednesday, October 12th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Aflac from $62.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Aflac from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Aflac from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 2nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $71.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Toshihiko Fukuzawa sold 1,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.64, for a total value of $98,896.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 10,258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $724,625.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Toshihiko Fukuzawa sold 1,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.64, for a total value of $98,896.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 10,258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $724,625.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.98, for a total transaction of $35,990.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 19,751 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,421,676.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 57,388 shares of company stock worth $4,065,339. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Aflac

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Aflac, Inc is a holding company. engages in the provision of financial protection services. It operates through the followings segments: Aflac Japan and Aflac United States (U.S.). The Aflac Japan segment offers life insurance, death benefits, and cash surrender values. The Aflac U.S. segment sells voluntary supplemental insurance products for people who already have major medical or primary insurance coverage.