Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Cuts Stock Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 4.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 298,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 13,985 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC owned about 0.05% of Aflac worth $25,633,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC increased its stake in Aflac by 78.7% during the 3rd quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 25,945 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,991,000 after buying an additional 11,428 shares in the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Aflac in the 3rd quarter valued at $346,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Aflac by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 896,897 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $68,850,000 after purchasing an additional 6,102 shares in the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Aflac by 151.2% in the 3rd quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 60,140 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,616,000 after purchasing an additional 36,199 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Toroso Investments LLC boosted its stake in Aflac by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter. Toroso Investments LLC now owns 43,296 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,323,000 after purchasing an additional 3,611 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of AFL traded down $0.04 during trading on Friday, reaching $89.05. 1,687,252 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,080,387. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $87.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $84.06. The stock has a market cap of $50.60 billion, a PE ratio of 9.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.95. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $69.00 and a twelve month high of $91.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.08. Aflac had a net margin of 27.67% and a return on equity of 16.88%. The firm had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.55 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 22nd were given a $0.50 dividend. This is an increase from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 21st. Aflac’s payout ratio is currently 22.08%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AFL has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Aflac from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Truist Financial increased their price target on Aflac from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Aflac from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Aflac from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Aflac currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.69.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 22,378 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.47, for a total value of $1,957,403.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 61,522 shares in the company, valued at $5,381,329.34. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.84, for a total value of $50,904.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 27,550 shares in the company, valued at $2,337,342. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 22,378 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.47, for a total value of $1,957,403.66. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 61,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,381,329.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

About Aflac

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.