Texas Permanent School Fund Corp Reduces Stock Holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Texas Permanent School Fund Corp reduced its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 21.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 85,684 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 23,141 shares during the quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp’s holdings in Aflac were worth $7,652,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of AFL. Atwood & Palmer Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 80.0% in the first quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the first quarter worth $29,000. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the first quarter worth $34,000. Sachetta LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Cedar Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the first quarter worth $50,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Aflac from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 19th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Aflac from $82.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Bank of America increased their price target on Aflac from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Aflac from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Aflac from $84.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Aflac has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $92.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 2,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.94, for a total transaction of $197,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 18,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,796,552.52. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of AFL stock opened at $108.42 on Wednesday. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $74.89 and a fifty-two week high of $111.14. The stock has a market cap of $60.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.95. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $99.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $90.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.23. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.22% and a net margin of 28.35%. The business had revenue of $5.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.58 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 21st. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.08%.

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.