State of Alaska Department of Revenue Lowers Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue trimmed its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 9.0% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 116,144 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 11,445 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in Aflac were worth $9,971,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. grew its holdings in Aflac by 80.0% in the first quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AFL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Aflac from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Aflac from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Aflac from $84.00 to $83.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 28th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Aflac from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $83.69.

Insider Activity at Aflac

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

Aflac Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of AFL stock opened at $89.10 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $87.25 and its 200 day moving average is $83.94. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $69.00 and a 12-month high of $91.15.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.08. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.88% and a net margin of 27.67%. The company had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.55 earnings per share. Aflac’s revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 22nd were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. This is a positive change from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.08%.

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.