Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Shares Sold by QRG Capital Management Inc.

QRG Capital Management Inc. cut its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 27.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 407,037 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 154,974 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.07% of Aflac worth $45,258,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AFL. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter worth approximately $349,699,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter worth $163,409,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 12,313.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,504,067 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $167,237,000 after buying an additional 1,491,951 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Aflac by 22.9% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,296,014 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $754,700,000 after purchasing an additional 1,357,753 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi boosted its holdings in Aflac by 81.1% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,753,513 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $285,181,000 after purchasing an additional 1,232,683 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AFL opened at $102.06 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.18 billion, a PE ratio of 10.63, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.82. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $86.55 and a twelve month high of $115.50. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $105.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $105.47.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by ($0.01). Aflac had a net margin of 28.76% and a return on equity of 16.20%. The firm had revenue of $3.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.66 earnings per share. Aflac’s revenue was down 37.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 21st were paid a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 21st. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.25%.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.79, for a total transaction of $106,790.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 26,096 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,786,791.84. The trade was a 3.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Masatoshi Koide sold 37,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.59, for a total transaction of $3,906,830.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 70,992 shares in the company, valued at $7,496,045.28. This represents a 34.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 40,750 shares of company stock worth $4,304,295. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Aflac from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Aflac from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Aflac from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $104.93.

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.