Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Shares Sold by Commonwealth Equity Services LLC

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC decreased its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 348,724 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,039 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC owned 0.06% of Aflac worth $24,341,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Aflac by 2.5% during the second quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 9,908 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $692,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 366.6% during the 2nd quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. now owns 9,701 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $677,000 after acquiring an additional 7,622 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 67,106 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,330,000 after purchasing an additional 2,663 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its holdings in shares of Aflac by 22.6% in the second quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 2,255 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $157,000 after buying an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Great Lakes Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 81,346 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,678,000 after purchasing an additional 520 shares during the last quarter. 66.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of AFL opened at $81.17 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.08 and a quick ratio of 0.08. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $60.20 and a one year high of $82.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.43 billion, a PE ratio of 10.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $78.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $73.47.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 2nd. The financial services provider reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.40. Aflac had a net margin of 24.17% and a return on equity of 17.86%. The firm had revenue of $4.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.23 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 15th will be given a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 14th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other news, COO Frederick John Crawford sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.37, for a total value of $8,137,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 236,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,247,178.43. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.47, for a total value of $38,235.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 26,598 shares in the company, valued at $2,033,949.06. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Frederick John Crawford sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.37, for a total transaction of $8,137,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 236,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,247,178.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 162,201 shares of company stock valued at $13,163,404 in the last quarter. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on AFL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Aflac from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 2nd. StockNews.com began coverage on Aflac in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $69.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 9th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Aflac from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Aflac from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 14th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $79.63.

Aflac Profile

Aflac Incorporated, through its subsidiaries, provides supplemental health and life insurance products. It operates in two segments, Aflac Japan and Aflac U.S. 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.