Simplicity Wealth LLC Sells 8,950 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Simplicity Wealth LLC lessened its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 66.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,526 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,950 shares during the quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $506,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Ascent Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 17,231 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,539,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 21,775 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,945,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 8,337 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $745,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Copperwynd Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. Copperwynd Financial LLC now owns 3,029 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $289,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New Hampshire boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 32,120 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,591,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

NYSE AFL opened at $113.26 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $107.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $94.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.50, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.95. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $75.07 and a fifty-two week high of $115.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.10 and a current ratio of 0.10.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $5.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.10 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.22% and a net margin of 28.35%. The company’s revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.58 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 21st were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.77%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.08%.

Insider Activity at Aflac

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 value of $197,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 18,158 shares in the company, valued at $1,796,552.52. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on AFL shares. Bank of America raised their price objective on Aflac from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. TD Cowen started coverage on Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Aflac from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Aflac from $90.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Aflac from $84.00 to $83.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Aflac has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $97.53.

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.