Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Director Sells $74,460.00 in Stock

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Director Joseph Moskowitz sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.10, for a total transaction of $74,460.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 32,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,059,311. The trade was a 1.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Aflac Stock Up 0.2%

AFL opened at $121.38 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.12. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $104.66 and a fifty-two week high of $130.22. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $121.36 and its 200 day moving average is $115.82. The stock has a market cap of $60.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.60.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.76 by ($0.01). Aflac had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 26.91%.The firm had revenue of $4.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.11 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.78 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be paid a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is 26.15%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aflac

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 64.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,570 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,507,000 after purchasing an additional 5,708 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC raised its stake in Aflac by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,402 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $455,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new stake in Aflac during the second quarter valued at $280,000. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in Aflac by 11.2% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 150,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $15,854,000 after purchasing an additional 15,105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 11,953 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,261,000 after buying an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on AFL shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded Aflac from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Aflac from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Mizuho set a $116.00 target price on shares of Aflac in a research report on Monday. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $138.00 target price (up from $130.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $117.58.

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.