Estabrook Capital Management Cuts Stock Holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Estabrook Capital Management lowered its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 70,377 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 350 shares during the period. Aflac makes up approximately 1.0% of Estabrook Capital Management’s holdings, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Estabrook Capital Management’s holdings in Aflac were worth $6,285,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Y.D. More Investments Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 80.0% during the first quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Aflac during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Cedar Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Aflac in the first quarter worth $50,000. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of AFL opened at $107.92 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.91, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.10 and a quick ratio of 0.10. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $74.89 and a one year high of $111.14. The business has a fifty day moving average of $102.88 and a 200 day moving average of $91.96.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.23. Aflac had a net margin of 28.35% and a return on equity of 16.22%. The company had revenue of $5.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.58 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.75 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.85%. Aflac’s payout ratio is currently 22.08%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.94, for a total value of $197,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 18,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,796,552.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on AFL. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Aflac from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Aflac from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Aflac from $84.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Aflac from $84.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $92.50.

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.