Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Director Sells $1,441,599.80 in Stock

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Director Joseph Moskowitz sold 12,370 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.54, for a total transaction of $1,441,599.80. Following the sale, the director directly owned 33,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,881,947.40. This trade represents a 27.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Aflac Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of Aflac stock opened at $120.04 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $115.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $112.50. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $96.95 and a twelve month high of $120.27. The firm has a market cap of $61.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.63, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.20 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 25.60% and a return on equity of 13.88%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.66 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 20th were given a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 20th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on AFL shares. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Aflac from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Evercore raised shares of Aflac from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen raised Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Aflac from $116.00 to $114.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $112.27.

Institutional Trading of Aflac

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 57,142,072 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,301,056,000 after purchasing an additional 6,759,169 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,550,855 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $499,216,000 after purchasing an additional 67,650 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,926,777 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $438,621,000 after purchasing an additional 13,666 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at about $420,078,000. Finally, Amundi grew its stake in Aflac by 22.6% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 3,268,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $358,555,000 after buying an additional 603,426 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Aflac

Aflac Incorporated (American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus) is a provider of supplemental insurance products designed to help policyholders manage out-of-pocket health care and living expenses. The company underwrites a range of individual and group policies that typically pay cash benefits directly to insureds when covered events occur, enabling greater financial flexibility for medical treatment, hospital stays, critical illness, and related costs. Aflac’s product mix includes supplemental health insurance, life insurance and other specialty coverages intended to complement primary medical plans.

Founded in the mid-20th century and headquartered in Columbus, Georgia, Aflac distributes its products through a combination of employer-sponsored programs, independent brokers and agents, and direct marketing.