Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Stake Lessened by Earnest Partners LLC

Earnest Partners LLC reduced its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 9.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 571 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $478,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. boosted its stake in Aflac by 80.0% in the 1st 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. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Aflac in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new position in Aflac during the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Cedar Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac during the 1st quarter valued at $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Price Performance

NYSE:AFL opened at $110.59 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $62.84 billion, a PE ratio of 12.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.95. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $74.89 and a 12 month high of $111.14. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $104.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $92.65. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.23. Aflac had a net margin of 28.35% and a return on equity of 16.22%. The firm had revenue of $5.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.58 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.81%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.08%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AFL. Barclays initiated coverage on Aflac in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $96.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $84.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Aflac from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Truist Financial raised their price target on Aflac from $82.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Aflac from $84.00 to $83.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Three 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $93.36.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 2,000 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 18,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,796,552.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by 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.