Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Stock Position Lowered by Kovack Advisors Inc.

Kovack Advisors Inc. decreased its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 7.1% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 4,893 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 375 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $420,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Aflac from $84.00 to $83.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 28th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Aflac from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Aflac from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Aflac from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Two research 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Aflac has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.69.

Aflac Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE:AFL opened at $89.09 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $87.35 and its 200-day moving average is $83.97. 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 Incorporated has a 12 month low of $69.00 and a 12 month high of $91.15. The firm has a market cap of $50.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.95.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its earnings results 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 net margin of 27.67% and a return on equity of 16.88%. The firm had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.55 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.46 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Aflac

In other Aflac news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 600 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 27,550 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,337,342. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 27,550 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,337,342. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 22,378 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 61,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,381,329.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Aflac Company Profile

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.